New Light
by Ajm3665
Summary: Instead of Angel and Cordelia being possessed in "Waiting in the Wings," it's Wes and Fred, but by different spirits. How will that single night change the outcome of things to come?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

**Warning:** Spoilers for eventually pretty much all the seasons, so...

The music was slow at first, creating a beautiful melody as the dancers gracefully moved across the stage. It was quite impressive, Wesley had to admit. The dancing was clearly well constructed, no doubt by a fantastic choreographer. It truly seemed like the dancers knew _exactly _what they were doing, knowing at each moment when they were set to do something without hesitation. The music picked up rapidly, causing a bit of a splurge of excitement as the dance began to get quicker to meet the beautifully fast tempo of the music.

And then there was Cordelia's snoring. Cordy and Angel were sitting in two seats in the row above Wes, Gunn, and Fred. Wes could imagine others were angered by her snoring as well and were probably shooting her and Angel dirty looks.

Sneakily, Wes stole a glance at Fred. She looked magnificent tonight in her red dress, hair all curly and put up, and makeup all put on. Fred always looked beautiful anyway, in Wes's opinion. But tonight there was just something…different. Something magical. Cordelia had told him that Fred felt the same way about him.

Unfortunately, Cordelia had gotten the wrong vibe and Fred wasn't really thinking of Wes in that way. There was actually someone else who was catching her eye. That someone else was currently leaning forward, grinning, and enjoying the performance of _Giselle._

The dance being performed at the moment ended extremely climactically. Applause flooded the entire theater. Gunn clapped especially loud, yelling "Bravo!" Wes heard Cordy jerk awake and say something to Angel, but couldn't make out what exactly. People started filling out, headed towards the lobby. Walking down the row, Fred almost tripped in her shoes, but was okay by instinctively grabbing onto Wes's arm.

"Oops. Look at clumsy ole me." she grinned, jokingly. Wesley smiled, feeling excitement run through his system. Before the night was over, he'd have to talk to Fred. Alone.

The five of them entered the lobby. Gunn began praising _Giselle, _which was essentially a surprise for everyone. He'd been very reluctant when Angel first got the tickets. Although, if Angelus of all people (or vampires) could enjoy this ballet, then it made enough sense for someone like Gunn to enjoy it.

"They certainly live up to their reputation," Wes said. He looked at Angel, who was frowning as if in deep thought, probably worrying about Connor with Lorne. In an effort to distract him, Wes asked: "Has the choreography changed much since…?"

"No," Angel shook his head. "Nothing's changed. It's exactly the same."

"Take it from me; they should've changed it." Cordy stifled a yawn. "Majorly."

"Hey, it's perfect the way it is," Gunn argued. "There ain't a single thing that could make it better."

"No, guys, you don't understand," Angel went on. "It's exactly the same as it was in 1890. Even the dancers on the stage are exactly the same. Haven't aged a single day."

"Looks like somebody fell asleep too," Cordy smiled. Then she looked around the lobby. "Are there any snacks?"

"I didn't fall asleep," Angel told her.

"So are you thinking vampires?" Wes asked Angel. It wasn't impossible, he figured. Some crazed vampire manager of _Giselle _wanted the show to be perfect forever, perhaps. But then Angel told them that it wasn't vampires on the stage, it was something else. The lights in the lobby flickered on and off, signaling the end of intermission. Fred proposed the idea of them snooping around once the show was over. Admittedly, Wes's heart leapt at the thought of going on an adventure of sorts with Fred. Maybe then they could be alone, and Wes was extremely anxious to talk with Fred.

"You guys go back in," Angel insisted. "I'll snoop around backstage."

"No!" Wes quickly intervened, faster and louder than he'd intended. Everyone turned and looked at him. "I-I mean, you should go back in. With your vampire seeing and hearing and everything, you can look around in the dark and notice if anything's off or if anyone's doing something suspicious when we wouldn't be able to see. I'll go snooping backstage."

Angel didn't respond at first. By the look on his face, Wes could tell he wasn't too keen on what he was saying. He'd want to go explore backstage, and Wes couldn't blame him. Still, he just hoped…

"Fine," Angel finally spoke after a tense few seconds. "I'll go back in."

"I'll come with you," Cordy said. "Maybe my new demon-y powers can pick something up too."

"I…" Gunn paused. He looked at Fred, beautiful Fred. If there was a chance to spend time with her, he wanted to take it. But, undeniably, he wanted to see the second act to the ballet.

"It's okay," Fred smiled at him. "I'll go with Wesley. Go enjoy the rest of the show."

With that, Angel, Cordy, and Gunn left with the rest of the crowd. Wes looked at Fred and flashed a nervous smile. She told him they should get to looking around now.

Things were eerily silent aside from the distant hum of the music, giving the building a haunting feel. Wes couldn't help but be a little shaken. Fred, on the other hand, seemed completely calm. She was amazing. A survivor. To be stuck in Pylea and survive like she had was one of the bravest stories he'd ever heard. And seeing her come down those steps in the Hyperion everyday caused his heart to skip a beat every time.

After a short while, they found a door leading to stairs which led to another door that would bring them backstage. The only problem was that there was a guard standing in front of the door. He looked bored and unfocused. Luckily, he didn't notice Wes and Fred.

"What do we do?" Fred whispered. "Sneak up on him? You grab him I knock him out?" She started looking around for some sort of weapon.

"He's a guard, Fred, not a demon."

"So what? We need to get back there. Do you want to come?"

"Excuse me?"

"Backstage. Do you want to come or not?"

"Ah," Wes nodded. "I suppose." Fred being all bossy and giving orders was cute to him, actually. He started looking around for something he could knock the guard out with.

Once the job was done, they walked inside and closed the door behind them. Almost instantly, they found themselves walking down a hall—a hall that seemed too long for words. There was definitely something going on here, something magical. Nothing normal would cause a hall to be this long. It was almost like they were passing the same doors over and over again.

"Maybe we should turn back," Fred suggested after a few minutes. But when they turned around, it was a completely different corridor than before. "Or not," she spoke dejectedly.

They started walking down this new corridor. Wes managed to work out all the courage inside of him and took a deep breath. The time wasn't ideal, supposedly, but Wes figured they weren't going to be interrupted anytime soon.

"Listen, Fred. There's, uh, something I wanted to talk with you about."

"Wesley?"

"I know it's not the best time, but-"

"No, Wesley, look!" she pointed at a door that appeared different than all of the other doors they'd seen. "Maybe it's an exit?"

"Maybe," Wes said, although he didn't like the thought of her interrupting him so they could possibly get out of here. He wanted to talk with her, but he guessed that it would just have to wait.

Fred opened the door and they found themselves in a dressing room. Fred was disappointed, but walked in the dressing room anyway. This was what they were looking for. Maybe in here there would be some sort of clue as to how all the dancers hadn't aged and were still doing the same performance.

Fred walked over to a dressing table and found a little chain with a cross on it. She guessed that meant Angel was right. Vampires wouldn't keep crosses—or mirrors—in their dressing room.

Suddenly she felt her entire demeanor changed. It was like her own mind was just cast aside as something else seemed to take control, and she couldn't fight it. Fred dropped the cross and spun around, looking at Wesley, who was snooping around the room a bit.

"What are you doing here?" Fred's voice questioned.

Wes looked at her. "Fred? What are you-"

Something changed. His mind was pushed to the sides just like Fred's, and he somehow heard words in his voice that were not his own. And yet somehow the thing in his head almost felt right, like it was supposed to happen.

"I came back for you," Wes spoke, stepping forward. "Did you really think I would just leave you here, alone?" Again he stepped forward, this time arriving right in front of Fred. He looked down at her as she gazed up into his eyes. Their bodies were so close to touching. He felt her breath on his skin and she felt his on hers

"You don't understand." Water formed in Fred's eyes. "It's over."

Wes reached over and lightly touched Fred's face, slowly tracing down until he reached her neck. "No, it never is. I can feel you. I can see you. If we don't give up, we can—"

"It's too late, and you're just afraid to admit it! Because you don't think you can live without me."

"Because _I can't,_" Wesley found himself fighting, still not himself. "Every time I see _her_…you're all I think about. And if there's a possibility to get you back, I won't let go. I will fight and fight and fight until you're in my life again."

"There's no hope."

"I can _save _you."

"How?!"

Out of nowhere Wes was leaning down and kissing Fred. With the feeling of her lips pressed against his, he wasn't sure whether to be excited or worried. What was going _on? _Who was taking over him? Either way, it was too powerful to fight; giving him the illusion they had no choice but finish the scene off.

They pulled apart, breathing heavily. Fred cupped his face with her hands.

"I love you," she whispered, a few tears falling down her face. Then she kissed him again, and it was so hard to pull apart.

"Let me save you from this rotten dark abyss," Wesley urged. "Let me bring you back."

"But she's already here."

"Our love is stronger than anything. This must be proven for us to be safe."

They began kissing again, harder this time, more forcefully. So forcefully they fell back onto a lounge. In Fred's own mind, she knew this was wrong. Whatever was happening wasn't right. At the same time, she found herself actually kind of…enjoying this. When her body kissed Wesley's, it didn't just feel like they were being possessed or something. It actually felt _right, _and she somehow knew that even if they weren't possessed (which had to be obviously what was happening) and had kissed, she would never want to stop kissing him. Suddenly, by chance of a random possession, she was looking at Wesley through a whole new light, a light she'd never seen him in before. It was a good light, a bright light that opened up so many possibilities for their future together. You know, once this whole possession thing was over.

The kissing only seemed to intensify. Fred was pulling Wes's tux jacket off, and then going for the shirt. Things were being removed at an alarmingly fast pace.

Until randomly, the possession ended. It was such a shock, so sudden, that they both found themselves breathing heavily, unable to move, faces only mere inches apart from each other's.

"Wesley," Fred, the 'real-and-not-possessed' Fred, whispered.

Wes originally would've jumped up in embarrassment, unable to look at Fred. It was an embarrassing situation, really, about to sleep with a close friend because of a possession, even if he was in love with her. But there was a certain way she said his name that just told him things were different, were never going to be the same.

With enough bravery to astonish even himself, Wes leaned down and lightly pressed his lips against Fred's. Their first actual kiss.

It was amazing. Fireworks, everywhere. He felt like he'd been waiting for this moment for so long. With a new hunger, a powerfully magnificent hunger, Fred kissed Wesley back, signifying the change of things to come.

* * *

Manipulation.

It wasn't hard, really, at least not for someone like himself.

See, the thing was, he wasn't an idiot. No, no, no, far from it. He was a demon, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. He was Cyvus Vail, and did Angel and his ragtag group of freaks really think he wouldn't see through the scheme? Oh, Angel thought he was so smart, signing the contract so he wouldn't Shanshu and everything, but Vail was smarter.

That was why he'd anticipated the end. Illyria was going to kill him. So, he'd created a backup plan, just as any genius sorcerer would do, correct?

The origins of _Giselle _were no secrets to him or anyone, really. Plus, they'd all heard about the spirits in there who wanted to finish out their little role or whatever. Before Wesley or Illyria could arrive, he simply did a spell that would alter a few things, changing the course of the Fang Gang forever. A spell that would be put in place at the sign of Vail's death.

Manipulation. It was nearly impossible when trying to manipulate something that happened in the past, but not impossible when it involved a total of four spirits who were lovers and deserved better. Including the silly ballerina and her secret lover, but also including Wesley and Fred themselves. All it took for Vail was to manipulate their spirits to switch places momentarily through a fabrication of time, when they needed to be. A scene that was created that never happened between the two, but was a fantasy created in one of Wes's dreams when mourning the loss of Fred because he wanted to save her so badly, was placed in their spirits. And like magic, it'd happened, just as planned. Wes and Fred, possessed by their future dead spirit selves, and not even knowing it. But that didn't really matter. All that mattered was because of that night, because of Vail's manipulation, nothing would be the same. That, in the end, benefitted him, because it meant he wouldn't die in the future. But it was still up in the air about how things would turn out for Angel and his team after this new change. Whether they would change for better or for worse, even Vail didn't know, and he certainly wasn't planning on finding out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

**Warning:** Spoilers for pretty much all the seasons, so...

Despite the original spirits of the ballerina and Stephan having not possessed Wes and Fred, the matter of Wes and Fred being gone still remained. After Angel, Cordy, and Gunn waited long enough and couldn't sense anything, they left and went backstage to look for Wes and Fred. Unfortunately, they found themselves lost and fighting a horde of creepy-looking minions wearing gray comedy or tragedy masks that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The more they fought, it seemed the more appeared.

Meanwhile, Wes and Fred were back in the dressing room, sitting down, thinking about what just happened. They may not have known they were possessed by their future selves, but they were both left with multiple feelings inside of confusion. When they were possessed, there was just something about it that didn't feel…wrong. Wes tried to articulate how it had felt, but couldn't manage. Fred felt the same way. They were possessed, but to her it hadn't felt like possession; it'd felt almost _real. _Both Wes and Fred decided it was just the obvious intensity of love the two lovers shared that made it feel so real.

"Why did they just suddenly go away?" Fred questioned. Since they'd shared that first true kiss, they sat side by side, conversing over what just happened. Specifically, all they'd talked about were the spirits that possessed them so far. It wasn't that Fred was avoiding the topic of the kiss; she just wasn't sure what could be said about it. It had to be fairly obvious at that point that something was awakened inside of her, making her realize where her true feelings stood. And it wasn't just that the spirits possessed them. She was starting to feel like a complete idiot for not noticing it before. _Wesley. _He was the one she should've always been looking at. He was so strong and dedicated and caring, and she noticed the look in his eyes now, the look he got every time he looked at her, like she was the most special person in the world. She could trace that look in his eyes all the way back to even when they went through that whole Billy ordeal. He cared about her so much almost since the very beginning. How had she not seen it?

As these thoughts raced through her mind, she also couldn't forget about the new thump in her chest just at the thought of Wesley, kissing Wesley, _being _with Wesley. Yes, she'd realized the extent of his feelings for her and at the same time awakened her own feelings that for some reason she couldn't admit before.

"I don't know," Wes admitted. "Perhaps the scene was done. That was all that needed to be shared by the spirits."

"That doesn't seem right," Fred rebutted. "Things were just starting to heat up. Why would they go away, be finished before everything was-"

"Completed," Wes finished for her. Fred nodded. "Either way, it doesn't look like they're coming back."

Fred agreed. "We should go try and find everyone else."

"Fred, wait." Wes stopped her before she could stand up to walk away. He looked at her fully for the first time since their kiss, and she looked at him. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes seemed to peer at him, peer inside his soul, for the first time. Like she was actually looking inside of him.

Fred reached over and placed her hand on top of his. His skin was warm and she fought the urge to kiss him as he had kissed her before. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, we have to find out what's going on."

Even though he was feeling incredibly impatient and wanted to know what their kiss had meant, he decided Fred was right. They could talk later. They needed to go find Angel, Cordy, and Gunn.

Immediately entering the hallway, they were attacked by minions. Having no weapons to fight them off with, Wes grabbed Fred's hand and they took off running down the hall, the minions following close behind them. They took a sudden left turn, down what looked like a different hall, but then found themselves in an open space where Angel, Cordy, and Gunn were, fighting off even more minions. Gunn and Cordy had swords and Angel was fighting with his hands. With a punch that sent one of them soaring across the room, Angel ran over to Wes and Fred.

"Guys, did you find anything?"

Wes and Fred shared a look for a moment. "No," Fred finally shook her head. "What's going on?"

Angel didn't have time to answer. The minions who were following Wes and Fred before finally caught up and attempted to attack. They separated involuntarily, finding themselves in their own fights. Wesley backed up, picking up a sword that belonged to one of the fallen minions. A minion pulled out his sword and charged at Wes.

He blocked a few quick maneuvers from the minion and then quickly made a slash of his own. The sword cut the minion in the chest, causing him to back up in pain. Wes then kicked him, and he fell to the ground.

Fred managed to get a sword as well and was doing some good fighting of her own, albeit more and more minions were gaining up on her. Wes hurried over and swung with his sword, taking care of one and then two before they realized he was there. Then they split up, two turning to fight Wesley, two continuing to fight Fred.

"Stop."

All it took was one word from the director of the whole ballet, a man named Kurskov to cause all the minions to stop in mid-fight and back away, leaving Angel, Cordy, Gunn, Wes, and Fred standing in the middle. The director stepped forward with a very angry look on his face.

"What have you done?" Kurskov accused, nostrils flaring. Nobody understood what he was referring to.

During the small fraction of time where the ballerina and her lover's spirits were switched out with Wesley and Fred's, the other spirits went away momentarily while Wes and Fred played out the scene. This caused the physical form of the ballerina to fall, to be unable to move, as if fallen in a deep slumber, because her physical body could not go on with the disappearance of her actual spirit. For this, Kurskov was mad, and he needed to find out what these people had done to cause his precious ballerina to fall, to be unable to awaken. Of course he (and everyone else) had no clue about Vail's involvement and the spirit switch that caused the ballerina to not be able to move.

Angel noticed a jewel in the center of a Russian-looking cross hanging off the director's neck. These endless halls, the minions, the dancers, there had to be some sort of power source, right? And that was the only thing Angel could see that looked like it could be somewhat magical.

"We haven't done anything," Angel said. "Yet."

On a leap of faith, he jumped forward towards the director. Kurskov yelled and the minions set to attack again.

Angel crushed the jewel in his hand and a bright blue light flooded the entire building. Once it was gone, they found themselves in a normal area of backstage, no endless halls. All the minions were gone. Kurskov fell to his knees, too weak to fight, too weak to have even tried to stop what Angel did, his mind overwhelmed with grief over the ballerina he loved.

"How did you know?" he gasped.

"Just lucky," Angel stated.

* * *

Kurskov explained everything to them, making the details a lot more clear. He was some kind of sorcerer in love with the ballerina and the entire production of _Giselle. _He'd trapped them, making the dance be echoed over and over again, the same performance, along with creating the minions to stop anyone who dared try to stop him. He did it out of love, only love, he claimed, but Angel was sickened by his claims. He even described the ballerina's sudden inability to awaken. Luckily, by the destruction of that jewel, the dancer's sprits and physical bodies disappeared, finally getting to move on.

Still, Wes and Fred had yet to tell them about the spirits in the dressing room, which was still a mystery even to them. But, as Fred had told Wes earlier, they'd talk about that (along with other things) later.

After what seemed like forever, the gang arrived back at the Hyperion after a very long, exciting, unique night.

"I'm still confused on the part where his magic just stopped working," Cordy commented when they walked into the Hyperion. "I mean, what caused the little ballerina to suddenly just stop moving?"

"I guess there's a lot about this night that still doesn't make any sense," Angel brushed off the question.

Wes had his suspicions about what happened. When he and Fred were possessed by the spirits, it must've somehow affected the ballerina. He wasn't positive, supposedly, but he'd go over that theory with Fred later, seeing as everyone else didn't know about the whole possession thing.

They all got a bit of a shock when they walked in and saw who was standing in the lobby of the Hyperion. Lorne and a guest they had never expected to see again.

"Groo!" Cordy shouted, a giant smile breaking out on her face. She ran up to him, throwing her arms around him.

"Princess!" The Groosalugg spoke just as excitedly, openly embracing Cordy in his arms. They shared a few more happy words together, complete with a kiss. While they shared their happy reunion, Lorne walked over to everyone else.

"He just kind of showed up," Lorne told them, and then went on to tell them what Groo told him about the political situation in Pylea and how he deliberately came here to look for his true love, his princess. While speaking, Lorne noticed a little frown on Angel's face. He cared about Cordelia, and Lorne was sure something would happen with them tonight. Apparently not, and now Cordy had Groo.

"Good for her," Angel said. "I'm gonna go check on Connor."

"Uh, he's sleeping," Lorne tried to stop him, but Angel kept walking.

"Poor Angel," Fred said.

"We should leave them to catch up," Gunn mentioned. "I'm gonna go to bed. See y'all tomorrow." He took one last look at Fred. He was really hoping something would've happened with them tonight. Maybe he'd try to talk with her tomorrow. He then made his way up the stairs.

Lorne decided that he was going to head up as well, and wished them all goodnight.

With everyone upstairs and Cordy and Groo with their reunion, Wesley and Fred went to his office to talk. He shut the door behind him, very carefully making sure he locked it. Wouldn't want anyone barging in on them.

They were silent for a few moments, unsure of where to begin. Fred was pacing a bit nervously, biting her fingernails, a sign of apprehension, Wes presumed.

"I-I think that we can agree that it was us," Fred brought her fingers down, finally turning and looking at Wes. She sounded official like she was at work, talking about something very important. "We caused the ballerina's physical form to not be able to move. It must've been her spirit that possessed me. Her body couldn't take it, I guess, and collapsed while she was inside me." The truth was, Fred wasn't too familiar with spirit possessions and was only doing some guess work.

"Sounds reasonable," Wes nodded. "Who was I possessed by, then?"

"A lover of the ballerina's. I just keep trying to figure out where he fits into the story."

"The director loved her, wanted her to himself. This secret lover must've been standing in his way. Once he did the spell, the lover's spirit must've gotten trapped with the ballerina's." Wes suggested for her.

Fred sighed, and then gave a shy smile. "Well, I guess we figured that out."

"Yes," Wesley nodded. "And now the complicated part of the evening is next."

The smile dropped off her face. "Wesley," she said quietly. She stepped towards him, standing right in front of him, looking up into his eyes. "I've been such a fool. To not notice it before-"

"No, don't call yourself a fool. You're anything but. You're a genius; intelligent and resourceful, and adorable with all your little quirks. Everything you do, you say, just makes me happy, makes me smile. When I look at you and you look at me, it's as if the world melts away, leaving just the two of us. The sound of your voice is always music to my ears, calling me up from even the worst of nightmares. And the way you laugh, who could help but not get all jittery inside at your sound? My heart jumps every time you speak to me, and I feel as if I'll turn into a stuttering fool if I attempt to talk to you. You're not a fool, you're extraordinary." Wesley had moved closer to Fred while talking, his lips almost touching hers. He pulled back, though, clearing his throat. "Sorry. I had no idea I was holding so much inside for so long."

"But it's true, isn't it?" Fred countered. Wes didn't answer. "You really feel that way about me. For how long?"

"When I first saw you I knew there was something special. I couldn't place it at first, but it didn't take me long to figure it out." Wes was ecstatic that he was being completely and openly honest with her. It felt amazing to finally get these feelings off of his chest.

"There's something special about you too," Fred told him. She smiled. "Heck, I'd even say extraordinary, but I don't wanna copy your whole speech."

Wes smiled, and then before he knew what was happening Fred was leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing him. He was too shocked to move, to even get the strength to kiss her back. She slowly pulled apart, smiling, and Wes got the full idea about her true feelings for him now.

"Are you sure?" Wes asked hoarsely.

"I haven't been surer about anything since I've been back from Pylea," Fred chuckled. "I wasn't lying. I feel like a fool for not noticing you feelings or even my feelings before tonight. Being with you like that, even if it wasn't really us, was so eye-opening for me. I was just scared." She grabbed Wes's hand. "So scared that if I finally let myself realize my feelings then I'd just be sent back to Pylea or some other dimension, lost and alone again."

"I'll never let that happen to you," Wes comforted her.

"I know," Fred continued. "Then I went on and tried to convince myself I had feelings for Charles. I mean, he's sweet, but it's not what I truly want. It's not right."

"And you think being with me could be right?"

"No," Fred shook her head, and Wes's heart almost broke. "Not _could be right,_" she went on, "because it _is right."_

They embraced. Wes was so happy he didn't know if he should laugh or cry. The girl of his dreams, right here in his arms. He couldn't believe it himself. But somehow, he just knew that he would forever be happy with Fred by his side.

* * *

Cyvus Vail relented. In the beginning, his plan was to just move on, forget about Angel Investigations; move on so he wouldn't ever be in danger of being killed by them again. Forgetting about them was what made the whole deal seem worth it.

But he'd thought too quickly for his own good. Tabs needed to be kept on Angel and his friends, just so he was positive that things would have a different outcome. At this point, Wes and Fred were developing a relationship, which Vail could sense would change all matters of things to come. What he wasn't certain of was if their relationship would still be enough to change the rising of Illyria in the future. He figured that if they never worked at Wolfram & Hart or never came into contact with the man named Knox, then Fred would be fine. How could Vail be positive that Illyria would never rise again, though? And certainly if she did, then essentially as one of the most powerful gods in the world, surely she would remember everything that Vail did and come back for revenge.

So, to keep things from getting out of hand, Vail would have to keep a close eye on Angel Investigations. He would do everything in his power to prevent the rising of Illyria in any form, even if last time it had happened a couple years in the future. He wanted to be as careful as possible, no matter what the circumstances were.

Unfortunately, the circumstances were going to be changed much more drastically than he could have ever anticipated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

**Warning:** Spoilers for pretty much all the seasons, so... Also, I know I'm switching up a few things that happened in the episode after "Waiting in the Wings" I just figured dealing with the tree demon thing wasn't too important for this story, but anyway, enjoy!

The next morning, Angel came downstairs with Connor in his arms. Wesley was generally glad to see them, actually. He'd gotten up early despite the excitements of the night before. Also, it was admittedly hard to sleep after the conversation he and Fred had had last night. Anyway, as much as he hated to think it, there were bigger problems at hand. Connor's impossible birth was still something that needed looking in to, especially since Wolfram & Hart had stolen the Nyazian Prophecies. And there was still the problem of Holtz to deal with.

"Good morning," Wes greeted with a smile.

"Where's everyone else?" Angel looked around. "No one's upstairs. And Cordelia—isn't she usually in by now?"

"Well, I believe she and Groo probably have a lot of…catching up to do." Wes noticed Angel frown and nearly felt bad. Poor Angel (as Fred had said last night), being seemingly forgotten by Cordelia because of Groo. Sure, it wasn't like he and Cordy were actually together or anything, but with the ballet last night they all were expecting something pretty magical to happen, supposedly.

And even though Angel didn't know it, something magical did happen last night, at least for Wesley. Speaking of that something magical, Fred was off having breakfast with Gunn, just as they had been having breakfast together for weeks. Wes wasn't particularly worried; he knew how Fred felt about him now and she and Gunn were still friends. Although, he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at seeing them go to breakfast, even if they weren't officially in a relationship or anything.

Okay, so they'd had that talk last night, but where did that leave them? They had feelings for each other. Strong feelings. They certainly established that. But after that, Fred had gone to sleep, worn out by the night's events. So as much as Wes would like them to be "official," nothing was set in stone quite yet. Wes just felt that after so much time in Pylea, Fred may not be ready for a relationship, despite her feelings, and if/when she was then it was best she come to him. But they'd kissed twice, so that had to mean something, right?

Anyway, that wasn't his focus right now. He had to _try _and keep Fred off of his mind.

"Angel, there are still some things we need to figure out," Wesley continued, back on track. "I mean, Connor's arrival was just so sudden, and there are still issues that have yet to be addressed. He shouldn't exist."

Connor made a small noise, as if he knew Wes was talking about him.

"Plus those prophecies," Angel even joined in. "Maybe it's time to plan another attack on Wolfram & Hart, get those prophecies back?"

"Actually, I was thinking a less violent approach. Those prophecies have been passed down for ages, been looked at by plenty of people. I'm sure if we could find someone else who might have a copy of it or plenty of notes, then we could know the meaning without the messier antics."

"Sounds good. Let me know how the search goes. I want to be completely involved."

"Of course." Wes took one lingering look at Connor in Angel's arms. Yes, he was impossible and yet his birth was prophesized. He was definitely important in some way or the other. The only question now was: How?

* * *

Fred finished the last of her pancakes. This breakfast had certainly been about the most awkward one she'd ever had, and she'd been forced to eat with other "cows" back in Pylea, and the "food" there wasn't exactly good!

Neither she nor Charles said too much. She really didn't know what to say, and Gunn was noticing. It was the first time they'd eaten breakfast together where Fred was silent, so he knew something was up. The truth was, Fred just didn't know what to say. She'd intended to go to breakfast with him and be like everything was normal, but things weren't normal. Last night had brought a change upon them, and no one but she and Wes knew.

Oh, she and Wes. She wasn't really sure if they were "together" or not. Being trapped in Pylea for five years, she was a little rusty on her dating and romantic skills and whatnot, so she wasn't sure if she should say anything to Gunn just yet.

In retrospect, she realized she and Wes probably should've talked about this last night, but she just needed a little time to truly think about what happened and her feelings. She liked Wes, and cared for him, and wanted to be with him, and wished he was here with her right now. Presumably, Wes felt the same way. But part of the truth was, Fred's sudden realization of her feelings had caused her to be a bit wary. She didn't truly believe it was the spirits that made her feel this way for him, so she thought if she got some sleep then everything would be clear today. The only factor that remained clear was that she had deep feelings for Wesley. No spirits, no magic, no nothing. Even if it was the spirits that made her realize her feelings, those feelings were certainly going to be sticking around because she realized now what she should have realized before.

"Do you want some more?" Gunn asked, breaking Fred out of her thoughts and bringing her back to the diner. Without really thinking, Gunn reached over and placed his hand over Fred's. Quick enough to shock them both, she pulled the hand away and stuck it in her lap. She then avoided eye contact.

_Jeez, what am I doing? _She thought to herself.

"Fred, is something wrong?" Gunn questioned. His tone of voice was definitely smooth, so he wasn't angry or anything. "You know you can tell me anything, right? What's goin' on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"Nothing," Fred attempted to sound casual, but still failed to look at Gunn in the eyes.

"Fred…" Gunn tempted, seeing right through her act.

"Fine," she sighed. She couldn't allow this strangeness to go on for any longer. "It's just that, well, last night… You see… Me and Wesley."

"Oh," Gunn sat all the way back in the booth. Well, that made sense. He'd sat around too long and English finally must've gotten the guts to say something to her about his feelings last night. "Fred, you don't have to be shy about it. I get it. Honestly, it's what I expected from the beginning. Not that I didn't hope that maybe something woulda happened, but I get it."

"I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings."

"Well, take a good look at me." Gunn smiled. "No feelings hurt here. Really, Fred. I understand completely."

Gunn did understand. Wes and Fred, there was just something about the two that suggested they were going to be together. That didn't make Gunn any less mournful, though. It didn't make his feelings for Fred disappear. She was an incredibly special woman, and perceptibly Wes saw that too. She'd picked, though, so Gunn would back off just as Wes would have had Fred chosen him.

"We should get goin' back to the hotel," he suggested. "We got work and all."

They left the diner and made their way back to the Hyperion. Apparently, there was no down time for Angel Investigations. Fresh off of what happened last night, when they walked in Wes was immediately informing them about a Senih'd demon that Cordy saw in a vision last night after going home with Groo.

"Angel will take the sewers," Wes was already spitting out orders as a book with the demon's picture was being passed around. "The rest of us will go by car to-"

"I know this demon," Groo interrupted, looking at the picture. "It closely resembles one back home. I have slain many." He flashed his princess a smile.

"That's great," Wes said. "Groo, you go with Angel then."

"Whoa, wait, are you sure?" Angel jumped in. "I-I mean, you know how I operate, kind of in the loner broody way. He could slow me down."

"He's a great warrior," Wes frowned, not seeing the problem. Okay, so Angel would feel uncomfortable with Groo, but they were going to go fight a demon, not talk about Cordelia or something. "He should be a great help."

"Fantastic!" Groo roared as Angel groaned. Groo then made his way over to the weapons cabinet.

After a little argument about who got which weapon, they were headed off. It didn't take very long for Angel and Groo to find the demon. The shocking part was when it broke through the wall of the water treatment plant and into the broad daylight. Groo chased after it but Angel was, of course, helpless.

Thankfully, as the rest of the gang neared, Groo stabbed a sword through the back of the demon's neck. The Senih'd turned into a pile of black goo and people who were around the park watching began to cheer for him. Angel saw as Cordelia rushed up to him and threw herself in his arms.

The whole ordeal was over soon enough, but when they got back to the Hyperion, Cordy was increasingly agitated. Seeing Groo slay that demon was just so…so…hot! And it sucked so badly that she couldn't sleep with him, not yet anyway, not if she didn't want to risk losing her visions. So, while Angel talked to a woman client who just walked in, Cordy did some research. There had to be some kind of potion or spell or anything that could protect her visions.

Easily enough, she found something. A potion that should protect her visions from getting transferred. She contacted the one who had the potion; someone named Anita, and found herself just in luck. It would cost a lot of money, sure, but it'd totally be worth it, and Cordy knew that.

She told Groo about the potion. The second he got the inkling that getting that potion would make her happy, he jumped up and stated that he was going to go get it right then or there. Cordy stopped him, thankfully. He couldn't go out into this unfamiliar world by himself!

So, she went to Angel. The client he had been dealing with (Ms. Frakes, a woman who believed her fiancé was under the spell of a witch) was gone now, and Gunn—alone—was sent to watch over her fiancé to see this supposed witch.

Her words shocked Angel at first, of course. She was after all asking him to help her have sex with Groo. After a little stubbornness, though, he agreed. She gave him the money it would cost to buy the potion and he and Groo were on their way to the brothel. Cordy agreed to watch Connor while they were gone, so she went upstairs.

That left just Wes and Fred alone. At first, they shared an awkward glance, and then Fred got up from the couch and walked over to the main desk.

"What are you doing?" she asked Wesley.

"Waiting for a phone call," he informed her. "I've been searching for other leads on the prophecies about Connor. I've contacted the owner of an ancient book store who believes he has these items. He's going to call back once he knows for sure so I can go pick them up."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, then I'll translate them and-"

"About us," Fred stopped him.

"Us?" Wes echoed.

"I told Charles. Not everything, of course. But I pretty much told him that you and I have something."

"I want to be with you," he said. "It's no secret."

"I want to be with you too," she found herself whispering. "I just don't know how this works. Office romances, I mean. And we're always in the line of danger. And then do we just come out and tell everybody? How will they react? I don't even remember how to be in a relationship!"

"Fred," Wes spoke calmly, "as cute as it is when you ramble, you're nervous. It makes sense that you would be. I'm nervous too. We'll just make it work, no matter what. Last night you said that us being together was right, and I agree, and if we mean that then we should not worry about the others or anything else. We should just focus on us."

"You're right," Fred breathed in heavily. She looked Wesley in the eye and smiled. "And, well, I don't know about you, but a 50% of the 'us' factor really wants to kiss the other 50% right now."

Wes stood up and slowly leaned forward across the desk and Fred did the same. They were so close to touching, so close to kissing when the phone on the desk finally rung. Wes moaned. He didn't want to answer it, even though it could potentially be really important.

"I should get that," he whispered.

"Then I guess we'll just have to finish this later," Fred beamed. They pulled away, Wes already longing for the moment that they'd be that near each other again. Luckily for his part, the phone call was extremely important. It was the owner of the book store. He had the prophecies Wes was looking for, all he had to do was go pick them up. Well, he had to admit, this was a pretty useful day so far.

* * *

Retrieving the prophecy was easy enough. As Wes returned to the Hyperion, he saw that Angel and Groo were back as well.

"Now we can do the royal com-shuck," Groo was saying, "just as we were meant to." He leaned down and kissed Cordelia.

Not too long after that, Angel gave Cordy the suggestion that she and Groo should go somewhere, on vacation. Now that they were able to…connect…they shouldn't have to worry about coming in to work. Cordy wasn't so sure about the idea at first, but was brought around to the idea when Angel gave them plenty of money that they could use to go anywhere they wanted. They thanked Angel and then said goodbye to everyone.

Gunn returned a little while later, finding nothing unusual that would suggest witchcraft. He seemed awfully distracted and unfocused though, and after taking a look at Wes and then at Fred he said he was going to go upstairs, call it an early night. Then he was gone, just like that.

Wes told Angel about the prophecy and then got to work deciphering it. He was so engrossed in the work that he didn't notice until the next time that he looked at a clock that it was about two in the morning. Hm. He'd meant to finish up here and then go say goodnight to Fred a few hours ago. Surely she was asleep by now. What a shame they wouldn't be continuing their conversation from earlier until later.

The prophecy was almost all the way translated, though, and Wes wasn't going to give up now. All it would take was a little longer…

Apparently, a little longer meant an hour later. But that was okay, because he'd finally found the translation to the prophecy. He didn't know whether to be happy that he'd finished or surprised at the words he'd written down on the piece of paper. Was it possible? Had he translated it wrong? As much as he liked to think that, he didn't believe so. The translation was absolutely correct. And the words were an absolutely horrid revelation.

_The father will kill the son. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

_The father will kill the son._

Wes stared at the prophecy in front of him, a feeling of anxiousness overwhelming him. It couldn't be true. No, no, in fact, it had to be completely invalid. He'd already gone over this theory, though, and it was clear that he'd translated it correctly. This was a prophecy. The father will kill the son.

Angel will kill Connor. How could that even be plausible? Angel loved Connor more than anything. He would never, ever, _ever _do anything to hurt him. There was no sense to the prophecy.

As he knew, unfortunately, prophecies always came true, no matter what. The prophecy from so many years ago about Buffy that he'd heard about, for example. It was stated the Master would kill her, and kill her he did. Xander and Angel were just lucky enough to find her in time to bring her back. Call that luck or a loophole, it didn't matter. As Wes was reading this one now, he could not see how there would be any luck or any loopholes.

Connor would die by Angel's hands. No matter how many times he worded it differently, the meaning was always the same.

He shouldn't overreact. The prophecy would come true, but there were no words as to when. It could be today, it could be thirty years from now. And maybe there'd be a reasonable explanation. Connor's possessed by an evil demon, for example, and the only way to save him is to kill him. That would make sense, right?

Or what if Wes was looking about this the wrong way? What if the demon inside Angel was released instead and Angelus killed Connor. As long as his soul was put back, Angel would always look at it like it was his fault, like he did it; therefore the father would have killed the son.

There was not enough information in this prophecy to deduce anything. At this point, there were an infinite number of possibilities. There had to be a way to narrow it down. Usually signs appeared; signs that the prophecy was coming true, right? Back to Buffy's example, if he remembered correctly, the sign was that the Master was going to rise. What would be the sign that Angel was nearing the time where he'd kill his only son? If he told Angel about the prophecy and the sign, then once Angel saw the sign he'd know he'd have to get as far away from Connor as possible. But what if that was the point? What if seeing the prophecy _was _the sign which would cause Angel to go on a violent rampage and kill Connor accidentally? How could there be so many questions, so many possibilities? And what, oh what, was Wesley going to _do?_

"Wesley?"

The voice caused Wes to jump and hit the table. His eyes snapped up to see the beautiful woman that matched the voice. Grabbing a few papers before Fred had a chance to fully walk in; he covered up the translation of the prophecy. He took a large breath, calming himself down.

"Fred," he sighed. "I-I thought you were asleep?" Somehow, in a nearly magical way it seemed, he managed to keep his voice at a calm, quiet level. _Wesley the Voice Controller: Hiding the discovery of prophecies that would hurt everyone around him! _Okay, he couldn't be stupid now. He needed to focus.

"I was, and I thought you were going to come up so we could talk before I fell asleep," she countered as she sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. Wes's hands were shaking slightly because of how near she was to the prophecy without even knowing it.

"I'm sorry," Wes apologized. "I got caught up in the work. What are you doing up?"

"A craving for a late night snack woke me, but since there was no more food left in my refrigerator I decided to come down here to look for something and saw this light on. Oh, and its okay. Did you find anything?"

"No," Wes answered much quicker than he knew he should have.

"Okay. No need to go all crazy Mr. Cranky."

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm just tired."

Well, it was partially the truth. He _was_ starting to feel exhausted. Albeit for some reason, he couldn't see himself actually getting a good night's sleep anytime in the near future.

Fred smiled at him. Her smile had a mysterious way of brightening the mood. While the despair remained in Wes, the deflation faded. He felt lost, but better now, like he knew he wasn't alone. She reached across the desk and placed her hand on top of his.

"You should go home. You look like you could use a good night's sleep."

_It's like you've read my mind, _he felt like saying.

"Better yet," Fred continued, "come upstairs." Wesley frowned. "Okay, that sounded way too presumptuous," she backtracked. "I meant that there are so many empty rooms upstairs with beds you can sleep in. You don't look well to drive."

"Fred. Are we…together?"

"_Now _you want to talk about this?"

Wes knew it wasn't exactly an "appropriate" time. After all, it was late at night and he'd just discovered a life changing prophecy, but he couldn't help himself. The days before all he'd done was think about him and Fred and if it would really happen. And now, as he was separated in the sense that he was the only one to know about the prophecy and didn't know what to do, he wouldn't be alone. He needed to know if he was alone or not.

Fred chuckled. "You're a great big goof, Wesley. We care about each other. We want to be with each other. Is there any explainable reason that we shouldn't be together?"

"No," he told the truth. "But earlier—you said you were worried about the fact that we were always in this dangerous line of work and that everybody else-"

"Gunn already knows. I'm sure Lorne can sense something going on between us. Cordy and Groo are on vacation. The only one who doesn't know is Angel, and he wouldn't mind. Okay, we're in the line of danger, so what? We'll always be strong…together."

"So…we're together."

Fred frowned. "Here I was worried that I'd be the inexperienced one, being trapped in Pylea for five years, and here you are who seems completely oblivious."

He laughed. "You're right. I'm just nervous is all."

He looked into Fred's eyes. Yet all he could think about was the prophecy. He cared about Fred immensely, but this prophecy had the power to change everything, especially with Angel. He couldn't…he couldn't handle this alone. Tell Angel, don't tell Angel, whatever, it wasn't his decision to make. At least, not his decision alone.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to share any news just yet. It was too soon, and too late at night. Trying to get some sleep would help his decision making skills.

"We should go to bed," Wes suggested.

Like he should've done many hours ago, he kissed Fred. It was a soft, sweet kiss. Then he walked her upstairs. For some reason at her room, he walked in behind her. They didn't change clothes or undress, instead they just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep, together, closer than they'd ever been before.

* * *

Morning. So much light filled the room. Wes's eyes slowly opened. The first thing he noticed was that Fred was no longer lying on the bed next to him. Wondering where she was, he stifled a yawn. Wow, despite everything he'd managed to sleep fairly well. No nightmares or terrifying thoughts of-

The door to the room opened. Wes craned his neck to see Fred walking in and closing the door behind her with a tray in her hands holding two plates filled with eggs, bacon, and toast, and two glasses of orange juice.

"Oh, good, you're up," she commented.

He stood up and helped her with the tray. He brought it over to a small table that was in the room.

"What is all this?" he asked.

"Well, I thought you'd be hungry, and I was still hungry from last night, and I don't think Charles and I will be going out to breakfast. So, I made some. I don't know how good it is, but we'll try it out."

Wes smiled. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you, Fred." They sat down at the table.

"Yeah, and I made from food for Connor too. Since Angel won't be eating I-"

Wesley gasped nearly involuntary. Angel and Connor! Jeez, how could he have been so stupid? Anything could've happened in the time he was asleep. What if Angel had hurt Connor?

"Fred, are they up? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, Angel's just playing with Connor now. Wesley, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Her eyes darted back and forth. "You didn't see one, did you?"

Wesley shook his head. "Listen, Fred, I uh… I should go. Thank you for the breakfast, though. I just—I need to leave."

"Wesley, wait!" Fred called after him as he hurried out of the hotel room. Downstairs, he saw Angel, Gunn, and Connor playing. Okay. Good. As long as Gunn was with Angel.

Before they could say anything to him, Wes left the building. He couldn't do this. He needed the signs. He needed to know when, if soon, Angel would kill Connor, and if there was a way to prevent it. Until he knew that, he couldn't tell anyone, not even Fred. There needed to be positivity, certainty. Wes needed to know.

So at home, Wes researched. While he researched, Angel, Gunn, and Connor went to the doctors because Angel had a suspicious Connor might be sick. Even though they didn't know it, at the doctor's office Connor's blood was still switched out with someone else's.

Whether surprising or not, it didn't take long. He found a wizard, which led him to a statue that would be called Loa. The statue turned out to be a giant hamburger face with arms and legs at a fast food restaurant. Since it was early enough where no one was around, he decided to talk to the statue right then and there.

He received what he was searching for. It could not be stopped, according to Loa. Wes felt defeated yet again.

But the signs were given.

_"The first portent will shake the earth. The second will burn the air. The last will turn the sky to blood."_

Wes wasn't entirely sure about the earthquake thing, but oh well. He had signs. That was good, right? A step up. If any of these things were to happen, he would know the time was coming. Potentially, if he decided the best decision was to tell someone, then they would all know the time was coming.

Would he tell someone? That was the big question, if nothing else. On one hand, Angel needed to know. He needed to. On the other, for a reason he couldn't particularly explain, he was afraid of telling Angel. If the prophecy was inevitable, didn't Angel deserve this happy time with Connor now? Or was that not the right way to be thinking?

Gunn or Lorne he could tell, perhaps. Not that he didn't trust them, but what if one of them blabbed to Angel though? And Wes was still undecided if Angel should know.

Fred. Sure, okay, maybe still a possibility of her telling Angel. He trusted Fred, and presumably she trusted him. He could tell her, if necessary. If he decided to. If that was the best move.

* * *

Fred was worried. The way Wesley had stormed out...well; it was like something was terribly wrong. As much as she didn't want to be like a stereotypical mess, she couldn't help but ask the question: _Is it me? Did he run out because of us and our relationship?_

She liked to believe not. They had something. Didn't they? She cared for him so much, and he cared for her.

Or was that the problem? Did he not realize she cared for him?

Because she did. Maybe it did come about in a sort of inconvenient way, being possessed by spirits and all, but that didn't make it any less real for her. She liked Wesley a bunch, cared for him more than she could ever realize. The spirits didn't make her this way; they awakened these feelings inside of her.

That was why, out of worry, when Angel, Gunn, and Connor were at the doctor, Fred was considering snooping around Wes's office. Maybe he'd written down why he was acting so weird or something like that.

She entered her office and then walked back out. She didn't have to be like this, shouldn't be like this. She wasn't some psycho girlfriend who needed to know everything about everything.

Why did he have to storm out like that? She was so worried now.

Okay. No. Fred wasn't going to go into his office and look through his papers. That was wrong. But what if she was looking for some records of clients and was moving some papers around and just happened to read something?

_Stop! _She begged herself. Going into his office was not an option. She just needed a distraction until Wes returned.

Just as she was thinking that, the door to the Hyperion opened. Fred turned, and was more than thankful to see Wesley walking in. He looked a bit shocked, like he'd received a piece of bad news. In fact, she recalled he had a look similar to that last night before she had called his name to get his attention.

"I'm sorry," were the first words out of Wesley's mouth. Fred felt like he'd said that so many times in the last twenty four hours that it was getting redundant.

"Wesley, what was that? Why did you just leave like that? It's not…me, is it?"

"Fred, no, of course not. It's never you. I have discovered something, Fred, and it's too big to keep on my own, I think. I think I need help."

"You can tell me anything. What is it?"

Wes paced a little bit. "I don't know if I can. It's frightening."

"You're scaring me."

"That's the last thing I want to do. Fred, I translated the prophecy. I know I can trust you, and I hope that you feel that you can trust me."

Fred's heart skipped a beat. The prophecy. "Wesley, what is it? What did you discover?"

Wesley took a deep breath.

* * *

Vail watched on, like he'd been doing. As he watched what transpired in front of him, a smile broke out on his face. Just like he'd anticipated. Things were changing, probably better than he could have ever imagined. Already they were one step closer to changing the future of Illyria rising.

Although, unknown to Vail, he wasn't the only powerful force watching what was happening.

There was supposed to be a plan. Certain rules, certain steps were supposed to be followed in order for Jasmine to get the results she wanted. She'd carefully orchestrated so many events to happen at one time and then another. _This, _though, this relationship between Wesley and Winifred was never, ever a plan. How had it happened? How had she allowed this to slip through her fingers? Obviously there was another force at work, here. Someone was trying to change the events of what was to come. Someone was ruining Jasmine's plan.

Did the mysterious force really think she was going to just sit back and watch the changes unfold in front of her?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Sahjhan was angrily impatient. He didn't like to be angry like this. It really didn't feel good or sit right inside him, this whole "angry" emotion. Things should've been so much simpler, anyway! Why couldn't Holtz see that? The whole reason he'd brought Holtz back in the first place was so he could kill Angel's son so Angel's son wouldn't have the chance to kill him. One easy little mission, and Holtz couldn't even do that! Instead he was off gallivanting, creating a completely incompetent group of idiotic humans to try and _kidnap _the boy. Oh, yeah, kidnapping, because _that _was what Sahjhan had brought Holtz back to do.

Ugh. He couldn't handle this. The very worst part was that he couldn't even get rid of Holtz now because he'd threatened to stick his essence in the Resikhian Urn. Jeez, bringing Holtz to this time period was really starting to come back at Sahjhan in the worst ways possible.

So, he did the only thing he could think to do. He went to Wolfram & Hart. At this point in time, he was sure that English guy working with Angel had deciphered the fake prophecy one way or another, so he was on edge, no doubt. Sahjhan didn't know what the English guy—Wesley was his name, correct?—would do, but he figured he could push things along if they actually began to show what a high possibility there was of Angel killing his son.

Specifically, he went to Lilah Morgan, the Miss Queen Evil if there ever was one. Lilah simply began their little conversation with saying that Wolfram & Hart had no plans on killing Angel. This, of course, was accompanied with her scribbling a note on a piece of paper that said: "Count me in."

Sahjhan opened up his plan for her. He would need the blood of Angel's son to do so, though, and that might be complicated.

As if everything had happened to come to this very moment, Lilah told him about the blood they'd stolen from Connor's doctor. Jeez, could this be any more in place for Sahjhan? Maybe everything would work out well in the end.

Because, after all, he was simply just another demon at work trying to prevent his own demise.

* * *

Fred needed to sit down. Her mind was in a seemingly endless race with her heart, attempting to think faster than it could beat. Fear, shock, unbelieving—any emotion stretching over that range was swimming in and out of her body. She tried to think if there was possibly another meaning behind the prophecy. No, no, of course not. The father will kill the son; that was a pretty obviously stated prophecy if there ever was one.

A part of her pondered why Wesley would tell her this. The prophecy was _horrible _and _disgusting _and _evil _and _unfair. _She didn't want to know this information. She didn't want anybody to know about this prophecy!

And then it clicked inside her head. Wesley told her because he trusted her. He didn't run straight to Angel or Gunn or Lorne or call Cordy—he came to _her. _He came to her because he was frightened and wasn't sure what to do and knew that now that he and Fred had a deeper relationship, he wasn't alone. She wanted to kiss him and hug him and reassure him that he really wasn't alone and that, despite the horrid news, she was glad he told her so they could figure this out together.

"What are we going to do?" Fred whispered the first words she'd spoken since she found out about the prophecy.

"I've been asking myself that question for what feels like ages," Wes responded.

"We need to tell Angel," she tried to speak stably, but her voice still wavered. "Or-or maybe not. What if telling him about this is what will get the ball rolling, causing the signs you talked about to happen."

Wes smiled slightly. "That was my exact thought process."

"No," Fred shook her head, talking to herself more than Wesley. "We have to look at this from Angel's viewpoint. Angel would never hurt Connor voluntarily. We all know that. So if Angel knew he was destined to kill Connor, he'd do anything in his power to keep that from happening. Even if it meant he would never see his son again."

"Are you saying Angel would run away to keep himself away from Connor?"

"Maybe. If I knew _I _was destined to kill my only child, I wouldn't think for a second before sending myself back to Pylea."

"Fred…" Wes shook his head, stopping himself, and then ran a hand through his hair. He was nervous, Fred could see. This was really weighing him down. If they couldn't figure out what to do, Wes could very well be destroyed. On one hand, he had a desire to save Connor, and on the other he needed to save Angel from this prophecy. It seemed that there wasn't a way to do both.

"What is it?" Fred questioned. He had something to tell her, but couldn't say the words. "Wesley, you've told me this much. You can't back out now."

"If Angel were to run away, he'd still always know that Connor was right here at the Hyperion," Wesley finally let it out. "But…but if…I…were to take him, Angel would never find us. They would both be safe."

"Kidnapping Connor is not an option, Wesley," Fred tried to say, although she had to admit she could see the logic behind it. She reached out and took his hand. "Especially not by yourself. Especially not without Angel's knowledge."

"Knowledge of what?" a new voice said, scaring both Wes and Fred. They turned and saw Angel holding Connor and Gunn walk back into the Hyperion, done with Connor's doctor's appointment. With his hearing, Angel had caught the very end of their conversation and was wondering what knowledge they were speaking of. As he asked this, he looked at Wes and Fred, and saw their hands intertwined. Wes and Fred? A couple? Why hadn't anyone told him? He looked at Gunn's face and saw no shock, so that meant he knew about them.

"Um, knowledge of, um…" Fred tried to quickly think on her feet, but she was failing miserably. _Come on, Fred, _she thought to herself, _think of something, anything, and spit it out before Angel gets too suspicious and we have to tell him about the prophecy before we are ready to and-_

"Especially not without your knowledge of us," Wes jumped in, saving her, saying the first thing he could think. Since his hand was with Fred's and he was feeling her warm touch, it was the first thing that came to mind. "We were thinking about taking the night off, but not unless it was okay with you, of course."

Angel scratched his head. "Well, um, we're already shorthanded with Cordy and Groo gone. I guess yeah, if things are slow, but I don't know."

"Yes, of course," Wes conceded immediately. "We should of thought of that. Anyway. How is Connor?" Wes couldn't help but admit that seeing Connor in Angel's arms was a little worrying at this point, even if none of the signs had appeared.

"Yep," Angel smiled. "The doctor said he was completely healthy."

Connor giggled, perceptibly knowing Angel was talking about him.

Angel glanced at a clock. "Gunn, would you mind taking him upstairs? It's almost time for his nap, and I'm going to get something to drink."

"No problem," Gunn spoke, and then took Connor in his arms. With an admittance that almost made him feel guilty, Wes felt better with Gunn taking Connor and bringing him upstairs, away from Angel. He could tell Fred felt the same way based off of her squeezing his hand when she was nervous. Now, her grip loosened just a little.

Angel went to get some blood. Unknown to him and to everybody else, Sahjhan had managed to materialize in the Hyperion when Wes and Fred were talking and plant Connor's blood in Angel's blood supply. He had appeared, got the job done, and gotten out of there within seconds, not even taking time to listen in on what Wes and Fred were discussing. Angel poured himself a cup of blood and then came back into the lobby, where Wes and Fred were still standing.

"So, um, when did this happen?" he couldn't help but ask. He wanted to know for how long he'd really been out of the loop about their togetherness.

"The night of the ballet," Fred answered rather vaguely. Nobody even knew about them getting possessed by those spirits still.

"Oh. Well, with Groo's return that night, you guys should've said something. Then it could've been an even…happier night for everybody." He took a sip of his blood. Oh, wow, it was _really _good. The best blood he'd had in a while. He must've just been hungrier than he originally thought. "Wes, I meant to ask you this morning but you just ran off so quickly: how's translating the prophecy coming along? You find anything yet?"

"Um, nothing yet," he managed to get out. "In-in fact, I should get off to work translating it." He leaned over and kissed Fred, more as a way of saying that everything was okay and they'd discuss this later. Her lips pressed against his, giving him the same signal. Wes pulled away, along with letting her hand go, missing touching her already. He walked into his office and closed the door behind him.

"So, you and Wes," Angel tried to make a little conversation. He sipped some more blood.

Thankfully, before Fred needed to respond, the phone rang and he moved to answer it. Based on just what Fred could hear, it sounded like some woman believed there was a ghost in her apartment. Angel writ down her address, finished his blood, and then told Fred he was going to go check it out real quick, even though it was probably nothing. In the meantime, they'd watch over Connor. Seeing as Gunn hadn't come back downstairs yet, Fred took that to mean that either he didn't want to see Wesley and her together or getting Connor to sleep was more difficult than it sounded. Angel left the Hyperion.

Fred went into Wesley's office. He looked up at her from his desk as she closed the door behind her.

Fred sighed. "He went to handle some sort of case. I feel bad saying this, but I'm glad. Seeing him even be near Connor is…is…"

"Difficult to watch?" Wesley finished for her.

"It's horrible to say, I know. But yeah. I love Angel, I do, and I love Connor. But now all I can picture is him acting like a real vampire and drinking that poor baby to death."

Wes got up and wrapped his arms around her. She was shivering. He was starting to regret telling her about the prophecy. Wes didn't like being the cause of the distress she was having right now. Although he had to admit that it was good to have someone else who understood his thoughts and the dire situation.

"Wesley, you've known Angel a lot longer than me," Fred continued talking, her face buried in Wes's shirt. "How he'd react to the prophecy, what he'd do, is all better guessed by you rather than me. Whether you think we should tell him or not, I'll support the decision. I mean, I'll try and help, but I really don't know what is best here."

Of course, Wes didn't know what was best either. Tell Angel or don't tell Angel. Either way, Fred was saying she'd understand either decision. It got him thinking that maybe he shouldn't be looking at the horrible end of things. What if Angel would be as understanding as Fred was? What if Fred was right and that by giving him the information he'd then do anything necessary to save Connor?

Then again: what if he wouldn't?

* * *

Skip felt the rush of worry dash through his own body. That meant one thing. Jasmine was worried. Being the totally complete loyalist he was, he knew if Jasmine was worried, he needed to be worried too. What possible reason could there be for her to be worried, though? Perhaps something wasn't going as planned?

No, no, no, he knew his boss extraordinarily well, and she had all the power in the world to influence any event her way. What if it wasn't worry, but anxiousness? What if she wanted him to go up to Cordelia now and have her ascend before-

_No!_ he felt her entity scream at him—or at least that was what it felt like.

Something up on earth was going wrong, worse than Jasmine had planned. He needed to fix it. He knew Jasmine's own plan like the back of his hand, so he could go to earth and scope out the place, see what was going on that wasn't planned in the books, because that was what Jasmine would want.

Yeah, he could _feel _it. Skip was going to go up to earth and see what exactly was going wrong with his boss's plan.

* * *

Vail knew of Jasmine, of course. Who didn't? They'd all been around for her small, "peaceful" takeover of Los Angeles. He knew she had a plan and that she'd want to keep events exactly in place for her upbringing. He knew that meant she'd fight for what she wanted to happen to get her way in the end. No, Vail couldn't allow that. It wasn't too soon after Jasmine's takeover when Angel and his friends joined Wolfram & Hart and Fred met Knox who then brought Illyria upon her. So if Vail could stop Jasmine from rising, they would never go to Wolfram & Hart. Unfortunately, that also meant he'd have to change Connor's disappearance to the Hell dimension so that he didn't grow into a man and reappear within a matter of days. Well, he suspected Wes's and Fred's relationship would change the outcome of Connor's kidnapping, but he was still willing to use any magic possible to double check that it didn't really happen.

Vail also knew of Sahjhan. Of course, why wouldn't he? Sahjhan was an old enemy of his. Connor being the only one who could kill him was about the only benefit from a grown up Connor. Still, if Sahjhan could be placed in that urn that would keep him trapped, that would benefit Vail. For now, though, he was out there wandering freely, thinking he could do whatever he wanted, when really Jasmine was controlling his actions. But Sahjhan didn't know Vail was watching. And even if he should've known better, Vail was thinking he could change Jasmine's plan even more by trapping Vail in the urn sooner than Angel did—stopping Jasmine's plan and ridding of an old enemy; killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.

Well, things were certainly going to be interesting, Vail had to admit. He'd hoped changing the relationship between Wes and Fred would be enough to change every event to come—and maybe it would, it was too early to tell!—but he'd decided he was going to involve himself to modify things even more so. Yes, that'd make everything more definite, wouldn't it? It'd stop his own demise. It'd change ever event of the future, even if they hadn't already been changed enough.

Although, some things were just destined to remain the same.

* * *

"That's what you think is best?" Fred asked Wes. They were still in his office and he had come to a conclusion that he believed both he and Fred could agree was for the best.

"I do," he confirmed.

Fred nodded. "I agree. Then that's what we should do." Fred kissed Wesley harder than she'd intended. Just, after a lot of contemplating, a mutual decision had been reached. And it made her happy, even if they weren't completely safe yet. As odd and out-of-place as it may have sounded, them making this decision had given her even more to think about with her relationship with Wesley, and see how much they really did just _fit. _It made her see that her suspicions were right: they could truly make it through anything if they had the want to.

Before they could leave the office, though, Wes just had to ask something.

"Fred, about the possessions-"

"They don't matter. Me being with you right now, right here, is me and no one else."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I just can't help but feel that if what happened to us that night hadn't happened; well…things would be very different right now."

Fred smiled. "We would have found each other eventually, Wes. Two people in love always do."

"In love?" Wes couldn't help but echo.

Fred didn't know what to say. It had been a slip, an honest-to-God-slip-of-the-tongue. She cared for Wesley immensely, that much was clear. And he cared for her. She trusted him completely, and he had shown the same to her. They'd only really truly begun being together, nevertheless, so she wasn't sure of any "L" words. But she couldn't deny the rightness she felt when she thought about it and the rightness she heard when Wesley said it.

"We should go," she changed the subject. "The prophecy, remember?"

"Yes," he nodded, remembering. "We've come to a decision."

Grabbing her hand in his, they left the office, knowing what they were going to do about the prophecy and what needed to be done. First: they needed to find Angel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Angel had gotten back from the case a little while before Wes and Fred decided what they were going to do about the prophecy. As it turned out, the "case" wasn't really a ghost haunting a lady's apartment, but a neighbor next door messing with her head. No big deal, really, at least not for him.

So, he returned to the Hyperion around sunset. He grabbed another cup of blood and headed upstairs. When he took a sip, he noticed again the absolute _richness _in this blood that was just so delicious, and he wasn't sure why. It had to be just standard pig blood, he thought, so what was making it so _tasty? _He couldn't place it. He smelt the blood, though, and it smelt familiar, almost. Like he'd smelt this blood before.

Upstairs, he found Gunn playing with Connor. Angel thanked Gunn for watching over him, and Gunn told him it was really no problem. Angel took Connor in his arms and Gunn went away. Angel loved holding Connor in his arms. The sensation was simply astounding to know that he was sitting here, holding _his _son, the son he'd watch grow up, the son that was a complete miracle to Angel's life, the son that he would love forever, no matter what. It was one of the best feelings in the world, and Angel truly understood what people meant when they said that now. Having Connor was like having the sun outside that was constantly missing in Angel's life.

There were difficulties to come, Angel was sure of that. He could never be a normal father, and Connor would never be a normal boy. There were people and demons after him, and that could continue for a long time. There was a prophecy about him that Wes was translating right now which would hopefully tell Angel something about his son's birth, how it was possible.

Wes and Fred. Angel wasn't really sure how to react to that. Good for them, if that was what they wanted. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he should've noticed it sooner. Both of them had been acting a little differently since the night of the ballet. What had even happened that night to cause them to get together?

_Well, that's not any of my business, _Angel decided, and went back to focusing on Connor.

He began making faces, trying to get Connor to laugh. When it wasn't working, he switched to his vampire face. Connor giggled. Angel leaned down closer…and closer…just to play with Connor, really. But…he caught a smell of something rather delicious. Connor's blood. Angel could hear it running through his body…could smell it…could nearly _taste _it.

There was a knock on the door, but before Angel could respond Wesley and Fred were walking in.

"Angel, no!" Wesley screamed and Fred gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.

Angel switched his face back to normal and stood up, holding Connor tightly. "Jeez, Wes, calm down. I'm just playing with Connor is all. What are you _doing, _coming in here and screaming for?" Angel couldn't bring himself to speak the thoughts that were just going through his head about Connor's blood. His own son's blood! Gosh, what was wrong with him?

He glanced at the cup of blood he'd placed on a table. Something wasn't right, and he couldn't place what despite the nagging feeling that it was right in front of his face.

Wes took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sorry. I-I just saw you and thought Connor was in danger. It was just a mistake."

"You know I'd never hurt Connor, Wesley," Angel said, but he wasn't sure if he was actually saying the words to Wesley or just saying them for his own benefit. He suddenly became very uncomfortable holding Connor after what just happened, so he brought him over to his crib and laid him down. There. Everything was better now.

"That's the thing," Wes spoke as Angel put Connor down. "We don't know that."

Angel gazed back at them. "What are you talking about?" _Did they know? Did they somehow just know what was going through his head just mere seconds ago?_

Wes and Fred shared a glance that would've been obviously visible to anyone with eyes. Angel had to admit he was curious and worried about what they were doing, what was wrong. Why were they acting so suspicious and sharing "secret" glances?

"Angel," Fred started slowly. "We know you love Connor. And we know you wouldn't do anything to hurt him. That's…that's why you need to promise us you won't overreact when we tell you."

"Tell me what?" Angel questioned. "Guys, seriously, what's going on?"

Wes took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult to say. "I've translated the prophecy about Connor, Angel."

Based off their tones, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the prophecy was certainly a bad thing. Angel wasn't sure what to say. What could be so terrible that they couldn't just come right out and say it? Even though his heart couldn't beat, he almost felt like it was beating and creating a loud drumming noise in his ears. What was to become of his only son?

"Just tell me what it says," he spoke solemnly.

Wes's throat seemed to lock up. No sounds, no words, nothing could come out. He stood there for what felt like forever, attempting to speak but having no words come out. Until, finally, the words managed to slip out quicker than he had originally intended.

"The father will kill the son."

Silence. Silence so deep that you could hear a pin drop. Right on cue, Connor made a single crying noise. Angel wanted so desperately to turn and look at Connor, make sure he was okay, but there was a new sudden fear in his chest that if he did he'd catch another whiff of Connor's blood and there would be no controlling himself this time. The father will kill the son. That couldn't possibly be right, could it?

Wes had translated it wrong. There could be _no _other explanation.

The father will kill the son. Angel would kill Connor? _No, no, no, that's not possible, _Angel thought to himself. _But wasn't I just thinking about Connor's blood just a minute ago?_

Angel was horrified, to say the least. It…it couldn't be true. Angel couldn't see himself killing Connor in any way possible, no matter what was going on. He would never hurt his only son, who he was thankful for in so many ways. Connor meant _everything _to him, and Angel would do anything to protect him, not hurt him.

So how could it be? How could there possibly be a prophecy that stated Angel was destined to kill his only son. What _service _did that even provide? Connor was born _just _so Angel could kill him? Why? Why? To bring more pain into Angel's life, as if there hadn't been enough already? To prove some kind of sick, twisted point like all good things must come to an end? Why would Darla be put through nearly nine months of pain and then die again just because Angel needed to kill their son? There was no purpose behind the prophecy, no sense.

And yet, it led a nearly perfect story, a perfect little circle. The first thing Angelus did as a vampire was kill his family. What if killing the only blood family he had left (Connor) was supposed to complete the circle, be the last thing Angel ever did as a vampire? It had a disturbingly accurate symmetry to it; Angel had to admit, especially if _Angelus _were the one to kill Connor instead of Angel.

If he prevented Angelus from rising, then maybe Connor would always be safe. But no—prophecies were always fulfilled, and there was no way to guarantee Angelus wouldn't rise again, as much as Angel wished for that.

Besides, Angel was the one who had just smelt Connor's blood and almost wanted to taste it, not Angelus.

Both Wes and Fred could tell Angel was going through some distress. He had a pained look on his face, and appeared to be in deep thought. He looked…frightened.

As if instinct, Fred grabbed Wes's hand again and squeezed. He squeezed back. She needed that reassurance that they'd all be okay, Angel would be okay, he wouldn't freak out. Being in contact with Wesley managed to calm her down, even if it was just a tiny bit. Still, she never took her eyes off of Angel, poor, poor Angel.

"Stake me," Angel finally whispered hoarsely. Now, Wes was glad he was holding Fred's hand. Feeling her touch brought him down to earth and helped him recover from anything Angel might've said. He really did love her, he realized, ever since the first moment he saw her. If she weren't here with him right now, supporting him, Wes had no doubt that things would turn out extraordinarily different.

"Angel," Wes started, but Angel interrupted.

"No, Wesley." Angel's voice grew harsher and fiercer. Almost intimidating. His mind was made up. He would not allow himself to be a danger in any way to Connor. "I will not harm my son. I will do anything to protect him, and if that means me sacrificing myself, fine."

"Stake you?!" Fred exasperated. "Angel, if you think any of us would even be able to do that, you're crazy."

"Fine." Angel started searching around the room. "There's gotta be one around here somewhere. I'll do it myself."

"You can't!" Fred yelled.

"What do you want me to do then?" Angel turned and looked her in the eye. "Just sit around and wait here for the day where I _kill my son?!_"

"Angel, there's another way," Wes continued.

"Oh, what would that be? Maybe give him to some demon clan so he'll be safe? Maybe Wolfram & Hart will take him, huh? They want him anyway. Oh, better yet: Holtz! He wants revenge, right? What better revenge could there be then allowing him to take my son?"

"You don't have to do that."

"Why? Is there a way to change the prophecy? Can it be avoided? I forget—maybe we should call Buffy and ask how her prophecy with the Mater turned out," he remarked snidely.

"Then what about the Shanshu? That can't be avoided either. You're the vampire champion with a soul. You're going to live again."

"Before or after I kill my son?"

"Okay, stop," Fred spoke firmly. "Angel, we told you this because we have a plan, not because we wanted to hear you freak out about killing Connor and contemplating suicide."

Somehow, Fred telling it like it was brought Angel back. They had something to say. He needed to listen.

"You can't kill Connor if you don't know where he is. If you aren't around him. If…"

"If I don't raise him," Angel finished Wes's thought.

"Angel, I'll take him away, if you want. If I run off with him, he'll be safe. You won't know where he is. You'll only know that he is alive and well."

Angel pondered this for a few seconds. Finally, he shook his head. "I'll find him again one day. The prophecy is written, so it is going to come true, and no amount of running and hiding is going to solve all of that."

"But you're death isn't really an option," Fred intervened, "and neither is Connor's. I know I'm sorta new here, but I'm smart enough to know that much. You can't die. Neither can Connor."

"You won't know where we're hiding," Wes said. "And you know Connor would be raised like he was my own child."

Angel wanted to disagree. It wasn't exactly a foolproof plan. It would be way too easy for Angel to just somehow stumble upon Connor again. Or what if Angelus came up and hunted him down? Either way, Connor's death was always possible. Angel felt like there could be no avoidance, like Connor's death was a gigantic weight over his head about to collapse down on top of him.

On the other hand, if Angelus were never to rise again, maybe there could be a way to guarantee Angel never found Connor. If he never left L.A., for instance, and Connor was far away and never came to L.A., Connor would be safe. Okay, so that could be difficult, but whatever. It was worth it. Sure, he'd never get to see his boy grow up, but if Connor was safe and alive and well and happy, then that was all that mattered. Angel's own happiness with his son was certainly worth the price of Connor being alive and jubilant without his real father.

"Besides, we know the three signs that the prophecy will come true," Wes informed Angel. "I won't tell them to you, and if I even notice one of the signs coming true, I will take Connor and run so you can't find him."

"I'll never leave L.A.," Angel stated, almost agreeing with what Wes was proposing involuntarily. "And he is never to come back to L.A."

"Of course," Wes approved.

"This may be futile," Angel shook his head, "but I guess we have to try. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"One hundred percent positive, Angel."

That was all Angel needed to hear. Unfortunately, that was all Sahjhan needed to hear from the hallway as well.

* * *

"So when will we take him?" Justine asked Holtz. They had just finished a bit of a training session, and she was feeling good. She was feeling great, even. They had a plan, a plan to take Connor, and Justine was ecstatic for it. Granted, if it was her choice, she'd have the plan involving the death of Angel, a _vampire, _but Holtz was more focused on the child then Angel himself. He was convinced taking Angel's child was the perfect way for revenge, and since Justine cared for him and admired him immensely, she wasn't going to go against his words.

"We are almost ready," he reassured Justine. "Patience is key, Justine. If we rush into this, nothing will go as planned."

"Yeah," Justine nodded, agreeing. "I'm just anxious, you know? The more that child is poisoned by his demon father, the more evil he becomes."

"Every child has hope." Holtz thought back to his own children, to his daughter specifically, turned into a monster just like Angelus. "Unless he is turned into a monster himself, the child can be saved. And we will save him soon."

"Yeah, well, you might want to speed up the timeline," Sahjhan spoke as he materialized in front of Holtz and Justine. "You will not believe what I just overheard."

* * *

Wesley threw some papers in a box. More specifically, he was throwing anything that had to do with Connor into a box. He contemplated bringing some books with him as well, but decided against it. He wouldn't need them anymore, but Angel would.

Upstairs, Angel was saying goodbye to Connor. Even though Wes told Angel it was fine if he and Connor were alone for a few minutes, Angel insisted that somebody stay with him, just in case. So Fred was upstairs as well, watching the most likely tearful goodbye.

Wes's immediate plan hadn't been to leave this very night, but Angel insisted it was for the best. Wes wished he could've disagreed. Being in a hurry, he came down here and grabbed anything to do with Connor—the prophecy, the translation, the signs he'd written down. Angel didn't need any of these reminders of his son here. As he swept the papers off his desk, his mind couldn't help but wander to how fast things were going. He was going to miss everybody, and he was sorry that Cordy wasn't here so he could say goodbye to her.

The door to his office opened, and Fred walked in. Wes looked at her alarmingly.

"Fred? I thought you were with Angel?"

"Charles is with him now," Fred told him. "Wesley, I needed to talk with you."

"I wish I could. Now isn't the time, though. I need-"

"Why do you keep saying that?"

Wes froze. "Saying what?"

_"I," _Fred mocked. "It isn't just _you. _It's us, the both of us. That's what we decided."

He put the box down and stepped over to Fred. "I care about you so much. And I don't think you should be forced to come with me and suddenly be stuck raising a child in such a short time since you've returned from Pylea."

"That's my choice," Fred folded her arms over her chest. "I want to be with you, Wesley, no matter what that means. I want to care for Connor, also. These are things I _want. _You're what I want, Wesley. You're not going to leave me behind. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

"Oh, I'd like it," Wes stammered. "I'd like for you to come with me so much. It's just that we-"

Fred shut him up with a kiss. When she backed away, she said: "We need to get going soon."

"You're a little bit of a manipulator," Wes joked nearly breathlessly, still emotionally recovering from the kiss, from the jarring realization that it was going to be him and her, and no one else, with nothing to come between them. Things were moving really fast between them (thanks to the events going on around them), but if Fred was sure this was what she wanted, then Wes was sure too.

"I don't take no for an answer," Fred smiled back. Then, she and Wes continued placing the papers in the box.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Sahjhan wasn't the only one who heard what Wesley and Fred planned on doing with Connor. Vail heard and saw too, because he heard and saw everything that had to do with Angel and his friends. So, he knew what their plan was, and he knew that it wasn't an automatic win because of Sahjhan. He was the one with the true power, the vast strength to send Connor to that Hell dimension Quor'toth. Vail was smart enough to know that even though events were happening differently, Sahjhan knew of these new events and still wanted Connor gone.

In other terms: Unless Sahjhan was stopped _before_ he could send Connor to Quor'toth, there was little hope for Vail. Nobody knew of Sahjhan's plan but Vail, meaning he was the only one who could stop him now before it was too late.

As Vail had stated before, if Connor were to go to Quor'toth, Jasmine would gain the upper hand, which would then lead to Angel Investigation's future at Wolfram & Hart. To stop this, Sahjhan needed to be stopped. Once he saw that Sahjhan knew about Wes and Fred taking Connor, Vail knew that he needed to step in now, whether he was ready to or not. There was simply no choice in the matter.

He got moving as quickly as he could. No time could go to waste. Everything was moving faster than he originally thought they might. He grabbed a Resikhian Urn, which he had just lying around just in case he'd ever see Sahjhan again. This was the only thing that could trap Sahjhan, no matter corporeal or incorporeal. Vail had always kept one around, just in case Sahjhan showed up again.

It didn't take him long to get to Holtz's hideout, where he knew Sahjhan would be. Silently, he entered. What a fool he'd make of himself if Sahjhan heard him and disappeared before he could even do anything.

In the main area, he found Holtz and Justine talking with Sahjhan, who had his back towards Vail.

"If you don't leave now, you'll never find them," Sahjhan was saying, but was interrupted by a gasp from Justine, seeing Vail. Vail grinned as wickedly as he could. Holtz then saw the demon also.

"State your name," Holtz ordered.

Sahjhan turned around, seeing who in the world they were talking to. Once he saw, a groan escaped his throat. Of course, of course, of course. Could things be any worse right now? First, if he didn't get Holtz to get off his butt and go take Connor, he'd never be able to continue his plan of banishing both of them to Quor'toth so they wouldn't be a nuisance to him anymore (he was also willing to banish anyone else who stood in the way), and those fools Wesley and Fred would get away with Connor. Secondly, Cyvus Vail was showing up? What place did an old enemy of his have showing up here, now? Sahjhan didn't have time for this right now.

Unfortunately, he knew Vail, and he knew what a worthy opponent he could be. Plus, Sahjhan saw the urn in his hands that he could certainly want to try and avoid.

"Cyvus Vail," Sahjhan spoke, answering Holtz's question. "How nice to see you. I don't really have time for chit-chat now, though, so maybe we'll catch up another time?"

Vail ignored Sahjhan and looked at the two mere humans. "Leave."

Given Vail's extremely old age and colossal power, the word came with enough fear and order to shake both Holtz and Justine. The single word seemed to creep into their bones and rattle them up, so they knew they weren't dealing with just _any _demon and if they wanted to get out alive, they needed to listen to him.

Still, Holtz was an honorable man. Despite his fear, he looked at Sahjhan to see what he had to say about this.

Sahjhan sighed exasperatedly. "You heard him: Go! Just remember, now's your only chance."

Holtz and Justine passed by Vail slowly, just to make sure he wouldn't do anything. After they were past him, they hurried out quickly, and got ready for a change of events—they needed to take Connor now, and they needed a plan.

Vail wasn't overly worried about the two humans. Whether they took Connor or not, it made no difference. As long as Sahjhan couldn't take Connor, that was all that mattered. And right now, as far as Vail was concerned, he had complete power of Sahjhan.

* * *

Angel wiped the tears away. It was almost time. If he didn't let go of Connor soon, he'd never let go of him again, and the result of that would be his death. But the warmth of Connor in Angel's arms, the gaze of his beautiful eyes looking up at Angel, and the small grin he had on his face as he placed a few fingers in his mouth made this one million times harder than it already was. He truly was a beautiful, beautiful baby.

One last time, Angel brought Connor up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He made a giggling sound, and Angel wished he could tell Connor that it would all be okay.

_This is it, _he thought. _It's almost time for him to go. Forever._

"I love you, Connor," Angel managed to speak. "I don't know if you can even understand what I'm saying right now, but I love you, and I will never forget you. You were going to be the one truly good thing I accomplished in my life. I guess you still can be, because I know Wesley and Fred will do the best they can to raise you. But…just because you're gone…just because I'll never see you again…that doesn't mean you're not my son. I-I love you, Connor. And I know you'll be okay. I know you'll have a great life." He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. "I just wish I could be around to see it."

As a tear drop fell on Connor's forehead, Connor made a crying sound. He knew something was wrong. He didn't want Angel to let him go.

Gunn was standing in the room, trying his best not to impose on Angel and Connor's goodbye moment. It was hard, though, especially when Angel talked to Connor and everything became sadder and sadder and Gunn felt like he could probably cry at the situation also, if he allowed himself to. But he understood why Angel wanted someone else in the room with Connor. Gunn understood that Angel didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone and have no one there to try and stop it.

As much as Angel didn't want to, he turned to Gunn. "We should go."

No more words needed to be spoken. They left the room, and headed downstairs. Wes, Fred, and Lorne were already down there waiting as patiently as they could, albeit the entire situation was pretty nerve-racking.

The sight of Angel walking down those stairs with Connor in his arms _one last time _was heartbreaking. Angel appeared so hurt and alone, and Connor wasn't smiling—he knew this was incorrect. The stern and unhappy look on Angel's face was almost enough to make Fred want to start yelling: _We can't go, we can't do this, we'll find another way!_

But there was no other way.

Down in the lobby, Angel reluctantly handed his son over to Wesley. Not because he wanted to, but because there was no other choice. The longer Connor was away from him, the safer he'd be.

Immediately after Angel let go, Connor burst into tears and screams and started flailing his arms around. Wes tried to hold him tight, but it was difficult while he was having this tantrum. Connor wouldn't let up. Angel's instincts were clawing at his insides, begging him to take Connor back and never let go and run and never come back ever, ever, ever, because he was his son and no one else's.

Before he could move and give in, Wes was turning away, towards the entrance of the Hyperion. They all followed slowly behind as Fred helped Wesley place Connor in the car in the car seat and buckle him up. Connor was still crying and trying to escape. They closed the car door, drowning out Connor's crying only a little.

"I-I guess this is goodbye," Wes said almost unsurely.

"I'm gonna miss y'all so much," Fred stepped forward and threw her arms around Lorne.

"Oh, it's been so nice knowin' you, Fredikins," Lorne spoke, tears threatening to spill from his eyes at any second. All this emotion was too much. Goodbye to Connor, goodbye to Wesley, goodbye to Fred—there were just too many goodbyes!

Fred then went and hugged Gunn while Wesley and Lorne embraced.

"You'll be a great mom," Gunn told Fred. She thanked him, and they said their goodbyes. Then she hugged Angel while Wesley and Gunn spoke one last time.

"Thanks for being so kind about this whole thing," Wes told Gunn, referring to Fred, of course.

"She chose you fair and square. I ain't gonna stand in the way of your happiness, English."

_If only you knew about the possessions, _Wes silently thought, wondering if he and Fred getting together was as "fair and square" as Gunn thought.

A few seconds later, Wes came to meet Angel. He didn't know what to say at first. "I'll tell him about you, if you'd like."

Angel nodded. "That'd be nice." Then he frowned. "Maybe leave out the whole vampire thing, though?"

Wes shrugged. "Hey, I won't tell him unless he asks."

They chuckled shortly. They hugged. "Don't tell him too much, of course," Angel continued talking as they hugged. "He can't know where I am. In fact, maybe just lie and tell him I'm dead. That'd make things easier, right?" They pulled apart.

"Well, don't tell Connor you're _un_dead," Lorne spoke quietly, trying to lighten the mood just a little bit. "You're already dead, Angel-cakes."

"I guess you're right," Angel chuckled. "I know you'll do great, Wes," he finally told Wes what he'd wanted to all along. "If anyone were to raise Connor, well, I'm glad it's you."

"Thank you," Wes whispered.

"You should get going."

He and Fred got in the car. Wes put the key in the ignition and turned the car on, then the headlights, and slowly pulled away. If Wes had to choose the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his life, it would be that moment of driving away, looking in the rearview mirror as Angel, Gunn, and Lorne slowly and methodically waved them goodbye. The three eventually became mere dots and then disappeared.

The night was dark, the streets nearly empty, which was a bit of a surprise. Connor was just beginning to quiet down, the motion of the car putting him to sleep, as it did to any number of other babies.

Driving along into the night, Wes kept glancing at Fred, who was occasionally looking back at Connor, making sure he was okay. He couldn't help but feel that they were going to be okay. This new life together would be amazing.

Wow. He, Fred, and a baby. Wes could honestly admit that in the many scenarios in his head where he and Fred were together, this was never one of them. He'd never pictured them running off into the night with a baby that belonged to neither of them. He'd never pictured them finding a new place and raising a child days after they'd finally started seeing each other. It was strange, and odd, and unusual, and for some reason Wes wasn't frightened. He should be—his life was changing forever. But when he looked at Fred, everything just felt so…right.

And he couldn't help looking at her right then. She was stunning. Just wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans with her hair in a ponytail, but the look suited her well. She was now staring straight forward, no doubt having a plethora of thoughts of her own. Was she thinking about him and their new life together? Was she excited about it?

Wes checked the rearview mirror to look at Connor. He was now asleep.

After checking the empty road, Wes glanced back at Fred. He, Fred, and Connor: A family. A very different family, indeed, but they'd make it work. And, maybe one day, he and Fred would get married. Okay, okay, so he was thinking a bit ahead of himself, but come on. They were running off to raise a child together, why couldn't there be a wedding sometime in the future? Not in the near future, of course, but in the general future.

Maybe one day they'd have an actual child on their own. A little brother or sister for Connor. They'd be ecstatic, jubilant. Wes could already imagine the giant grin on Fred's face that she'd have at the news. They'd spend the rest of their lives together, happily being there for each other and the children. They'd live a normal life, because they were giving up the demon-hunting life to protect Connor. They'd grow old together and go through many hardships, but that didn't matter, because every morning Wes would wake up and see the most beautiful face lying next to him and he'd smile, because how in the world could he have been so lucky?

It wasn't crazy to be thinking of these things, was it? Wes didn't really think so. They were moving fast, there was no denying that. Hell, earlier this day Fred had said they were two people in love. Did that mean she loved him? Because Wes knew he loved her, he always did. He'd just never told her. And maybe now, at the start of a new life, saying those words wouldn't be a bad thing. They'd be a great thing. A symbol of their new life together, those words could be.

"I-"

_"Wes, look out!" _Fred screeched suddenly, stopping Wes from speaking any further. He looked up at the road and saw the person, no, two people standing there and not moving and they were getting closer and closer and-

Wes slammed on the brakes as hard as he could. The car came to a screeching halt, and Connor was awakened and started crying again. As the car stopped seemingly a few feet in front of the people, Wes took a deep breath and put the car in park. What were these idiots doing? He looked at Fred to make sure she was okay. She appeared perfectly fine, except for the frightened look on her face as she peered out the window. Wes looked to where she was looking.

The light from the headlights illuminated Holtz and Justine's faces. They were both holding stakes and looking into the car a bit menacingly.

"Wesley, what do we do?" Fred asked shakily. Wes didn't know. He couldn't just run these people over, no matter how evil they were. They weren't going to move.

"Get out of the car." Holtz ordered from outside, and his voice was faint from in the car, but still audible.

"Just listen to him. We can fight our way out of this." Wes told Fred, albeit he wasn't sure if he really believed it.

They unbuckled their belts and got out of the car. Instantly Justine jumped on Fred, holding her in a chokehold and pointing the stake at her neck. "Don't move, or your girlfriend's dead," Justine said. Wes and Fred didn't know it, but Holtz wasn't going to allow Justine to kill Fred. They were humans, even if they accompanied monsters. Still, fear was a powerful motivator.

Wes was tempted to attack, to protect Fred, but he didn't. He couldn't risk it, at least not yet.

Holtz went over to the door where Connor was in the car. He opened it, and then grabbed for Connor. In a few seconds, a screaming Connor was being pulled out of the car and being wrapped in a blanket in Holtz's arms.

"Shh," he tried to calm Connor, but Connor wouldn't listen. "We're going to protect you. We will save you from the monsters."

Fred's anger was boiling. How dare he? Who did he think he was? He was _not _going to take Connor and let Justine keep her as some sort of _hostage. _What could she do to get out of this?

A new pair of headlights appeared on the situation as a speeding car came over to them. It stopped a little before them, and out stepped none other than Lilah Morgan of Wolfram & Hart. She had a gun in her hand, and she pointed it at the area around Fred and Justine.

"You're not going anywhere, Holtz," she spoke, "and don't you think I won't shoot your friend. I really don't care if I hurt Fred here in the process. Hand over the baby to me." She was glad she'd made such an entrance in time. She was originally headed towards the den she knew where Holtz was figuring she might be able to find Sahjhan. She hadn't heard from him in a while and wanted to know how the progress was with Angel and his spiked blood. It was just pure luck she drove in on this situation, and of course she had a gun handy, and she figured that since her firm wanted the baby anyway, she might as well try and get it now.

Neither Wes nor Fred was sure if Lilah's arrival was a blessing or a curse.

"What do I do?" Justine asked Holtz.

Holtz didn't know.

* * *

"What do you want from me, old pal?" Sahjhan asked Vail. "Because I really do have some business I need attending to."

"I'm here to trap you, Sahjhan, like you should've been trapped long ago." Vail stated bluntly. He wasn't in the mood to talk in riddles.

Sahjhan nodded, taking the information in. "Okay. But what makes you think I'll stick around? Maybe I should just zap on out of here before you even have the chance to use that fancy little urn there."

"You're not a coward. You won't run."

"Yeah, well, I guess you were mistaken. I have more important things to attend to."

Before Sahjhan could disappear, though, Vail held him in place with a spell. Sahjhan couldn't leave. No matter if he was incorporeal, Vail had learned quite a few tricks and he wasn't about to let Sahjhan go.

"Sorry," Vail faked sincerity.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Sahjhan complained. "Fine. Whatever. I'll do it here. I'm powerful too, you know? You've always underestimated me."

Sahjhan raised his arms and muttered a few syllables. He didn't have time to do much else as Vail opened up the urn and uttered a few words and then Sahjhan's incorporeal form was flying into the urn in a flash of bright light, undesirably, and Vail closed it before Sahjhan could escape again. That was it. Sahjhan was trapped.

"That was a bit anticlimactic," Vail spoke to himself. But he didn't know the entire truth.

* * *

Call it some grand mixture of Sahjhan's powers, or just the sheer great influence of Jasmine, or just a plain case of repetition of the past—it didn't matter, the portal still opened. Sahjhan was connected to Holtz, and the few words he spoke before being trapped in the urn were enough to cause the very start of a portal to Quor'toth to open up anywhere near where Holtz was. Of course, he was trapped before he could complete the ritual, thus meaning the portal should have closed.

The portal did not stop, though. Seeing the bare minimum being done was enough, and Jasmine took control from there on out, because she most certainly was not going to let that stupid Cyvus Vail ruin _everything _for her! Using her influence and grips on reality, she held open the portal before it could fully close, as it should have. And it worked. And before anybody knew what was happening, a giant portal to an unknown dimension was opening up in front of Holtz's eyes, held by the influence of Jasmine's power.

Holtz was not a man to take things for granted. If a portal was opening up in front of him seemingly from nowhere, he had to take a chance. He was outnumbered anyway, correct, with Wes, Fred, and Lilah all against him? He had to take any possible escape he could with Angel's son before things got too out of hand. So he leapt in the portal.

Wes screamedand ran forward, trying to get to them to save Connor, because that was all he could think about, but Jasmine released the portal once Holtz was through and it closed immediately.

The portal was gone. Holtz was gone. Connor was gone.

Wes collapsed to his knees in despair and shock and hopelessness while Jasmine grinned at the events that happened just as she would have planned, but with a little more work.

How did everything go so wrong so quickly, Wes was wondering?

Where were Holtz and Connor?


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Justine wasn't sure what to do or what she had just witnessed. A portal of some kind opened up right here, right in front of them, and once Holtz was in, it disappeared. Now only she, Wes, Fred, and Lilah were left. She was still holding Fred while Lilah still stood holding the gun and Wes was kneeling on the ground, simply staring at the space where Holtz had been with Connor.

Justine needed to weigh her options. Staying here clearly wasn't a good idea. And she had no knowledge to any of what had just happened, obviously, so she would be no use to keep around. Chances were, Lilah wouldn't shoot her, right? Right?

She let go of Fred, turned around, and ran as fast as she could. There were no gunshot sounds and no footsteps coming after her. She kept running and running, unsure of where she was going or what she was going to do.

Having been released, Fred hurried over to Wesley. His face was pained and distraught. She couldn't blame him. Connor was gone, and they had no idea where to. She wrapped her arms around him to try and tell him it was okay, they weren't completely defeated yet, but she couldn't verbally articulate these things. Was everything okay? She thought of Angel and she wanted to cry. They'd both failed him so horribly.

Lilah placed her gun back in the car. She had no business being here, now that the baby was gone. A part of her couldn't seem to move, though, and she stood there watching Wesley and Fred for a few seconds. Finally, after what seemed like too long, she got in her car and left. She would have a lot of explaining to do to the Senior Partners at Wolfram & Hart.

Wesley and Fred didn't remain in that position for long. Wes unwrapped Fred's arms from his body and they stood up.

"We have to go," he stated simply. He started walking back towards the car.

"Where?" Fred called, and he stopped. He didn't turn back to look at her, though.

"We have to search for Holtz and Connor," Wes spoke slowly.

"Where exactly do you plan on searching, Wesley? They jumped into a portal. They could be anywhere."

"Exactly. They-they could still be on earth. They could-"

"They could be in another dimension," she finished for him. Her words were as cold as ice, opening up the most plausible reality which Wes didn't want to admit. If they were in another dimension, well, that made everything a thousand more times difficult. If they were in another dimension, there was less hope for saving Connor, and Wesley knew that.

After what seemed like forever, Wes turned back towards Fred. She could easily see the water glistening in his eyes which made her feel like crying as well.

"I failed, Fred," Wesley sobbed. "This is _my _fault, and I don't even know how I was stupid enough to let this happen."

Regrettably, Fred wasn't sure how she could comfort Wes.

* * *

Cordelia suddenly sat straight up in bed, her eyes snapping open and a bit of concern dashing through her body. Something was wrong. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she could certainly feel it. There was no vision or anything of that sense, but something was severely wrong.

At her side, Groo stirred awake due to Cordy's sudden movements. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then sat up as well, placing his hands on Cordy's shoulders and massaging slightly. She was breathing heavily.

"What is wrong, Princess?" Groo asked. "You were not awakened by my snoring again, were you? If so, I do apologize. I will try harder next time to not-"

"No, Groo, it wasn't that," Cordy snapped, shutting him up. Then she sighed, feeling guilty. "Sorry, I'm just on edge I guess. Groo, there's something terribly wrong. I can feel it."

"What is wrong, Princess?" Groo repeated. "Let me help you."

"I-I don't know," she fumbled with her words. "Maybe it's the new demon powers, you know, but I can just tell in my gut that something's wrong. Look, Groo, this vacation has been fun, but I just have this nagging feeling that we need to go back home. My friends, they need me."

As much as Groo loved being with Cordelia alone, he understood what she was saying. Her people needed her, surely. He could not and would not stand in the way if they were in trouble. If that meant their vacation was cut short, then so be it.

"Of course," Groo said. "In the morning we-"

"No, we have to leave now. We need to get back to L.A. as soon as we can."

Cordy jumped off the bed and began throwing her clothes back into a suitcase. She was stubborn, Groo had to admit, but he loved her stubbornness. This vacation had been so good for the both of them. They did a lot of sightseeing, ate at a lot of fantastic restaurants, and spent so much amazing time together that Groo's heart swelled with joy at the memories of the past few days. It was a shame they had to cut the vacation short. As much as Cordy wished she could just complete her vacation time with Groo, that wasn't an option in her book. Angel and everyone else needed her.

Cordy finished packing in record time, and she helped Groo with his things. Once finished, they rushed online to find what the soonest plane back to L.A. would be. The next plane would leave in more than five hours, and the flight would take a few long hours. Still, there were open seats and Cordy knew that she needed to get home as quickly as possible.

* * *

"I can't believe they're gone," Gunn commented and then took another sip of his beer. He and Lorne were sitting down in the lobby of the Hyperion. They had been sitting here for a while now, ever since Wes, Fred, and Connor left. Gunn had his drink and Lorne had his Sea Breeze. They had been in silence for a while, not sure what to say. Meanwhile, Angel was upstairs somewhere, no doubt brooding.

Lorne wished he could go up and comfort Angel, but comfort wouldn't have been possible. What could've made this situation any less horrible? Nothing, as far as he could see. In a very short amount of days Angel had lost a woman he had feelings for to someone else, his son, and two of his best friends. Granted, it wasn't like any of them were dead, but still. He would never see his son or his two friends again. And Lorne wouldn't see them either. Neither would Gunn. And poor Cordy didn't even get the chance to say a real goodbye (the only other goodbyes that were given were when she left for her vacation).

Fairness was nonexistent in this situation, especially on Angel's part. So, yeah, Lorne wished he could help Angel in some way. He just didn't see a way how to.

He finished off his Sea Breeze. "Me neither, sugar. It seems like just yesterday I was thinking we'd all be some sort of big, happy, and messed up family together." Lorne took a real hard look at Gunn, whom he had noticed had been pretty down and somber these past couple of days. "You must have really cared for her."

Gunn shrugged it off, like it was no big deal. "She and Wes are better off together. They make more sense as a couple, even I got to admit that."

"They do," Lorne didn't sugar-coat the fact. "Plus, you have to see the way they look at each other with such care and love. But that doesn't mean you didn't care for her, and I'm sorry you have to go through the pain of her picking someone else. But one day you'll meet someone who you love even more and she'll love you."

Gunn smiled. "It's okay, Lorne. Thanks for that."

Footsteps coming down the stairs surprised both of them. They looked up to see Angel coming downstairs. Was this a good or bad thing? Lorne had to admit that he expected Angel to lock himself up for an unknown amount of days until finally ready to come out. Even then, he most likely wouldn't be recovered.

"Angel? What are you doing?" Gunn questioned.

Angel stopped in front of them. "I can't lock myself up. Brooding isn't going to help me move on from them being gone. I figured maybe I'd go out; hunt some vampires, save some people. Try and forget about it for a little while. You up for it?"

"Oh, hell yeah," Gunn said excitedly, jumping out of his seat.

"You guys have fun," Lorne told them, "I think I'll hit the hay. I'm not one to take fun in the good fight with the fanged kind."

To their surprise, the door to the hotel opened up. They all turned to look and see who was coming in this late at night. Everyone's mouths fell open at the sight of a nearly disheveled-looking Wes and Fred.

Angel didn't take time to stare in shock. Instead, he went right into question mode. "Wesley? Fred? What are you guys doing here?" He checked both their arms. "Where's Connor?"

Neither answered at first. They only stepped forward until they were closer to Angel, Gunn, and Lorne. Lorne could sense something extremely horrible had happened, and he fought the urge to let his eyes water. What had happened? Where was Connor? Why were they seeing two people they thought they'd never lay eyes on again?

"I lost him," Wes said so weakly it sounded like he was going to collapse at any second. "Holtz took Connor. There was a portal. They're gone." Finally he glanced up and peered into Angel's eyes. "I lost your son, Angel."

* * *

Vail returned from ridding of Sahjhan. He placed the Resikhian Urn in a secret hiding area where no one would touch it or come near it. Rightfully so, Sahjhan would never be escaping or walking the earth for a long, long time.

Once he laughed at the simplicity of Sahjhan's riddance and the undoubtedly good actions he'd taken to delay Jasmine's arrival and possibly stop Illyria's rising, he decided he should check in, just in case, on how Angel Investigations was holding up. To watch them this entire time, he had placed invisible magical "cameras" around the hotel so he could keep up to date on their every move and decision. All to stop Illyria from rising, he reminded himself.

He received quite the surprise when he turned on the magic and saw that in the Hyperion stood Wesley and Winifred, and no baby Connor. Vail figured there had to be a reasonable explanation for this.

"I lost him," he heard Wesley say. "Holtz took Connor. There was a portal. They're gone. I lost your son, Angel."

Vail became outraged before he had the chance to see Angel's reaction. How was that _possible? _No, no it could not be! He'd stopped Sahjhan from opening the portal to Quor'toth!

Or had he? Sahjhan had uttered a few words before Vail was able to stop him. But really, had that been enough to open a portal? It surely didn't seem like it. So how in the world had Holtz taken Connor through a portal _again? _

Of course. Jasmine. There shouldn't be a doubt in his mind about it. Jasmine needed Connor to grow old enough as soon as possible. She wanted him in Quor'toth, where after a week on earth Connor would be nearly eighteen in that land. And, if things kept resuming as she planned, Connor would return in that week and be old enough to sleep with Cordelia and bring Jasmine into this world. Jasmine had done this. Stopping Sahjhan wasn't enough, and Vail should have seen that.

Now, because of his own mistakes, he was falling behind. He was in more danger of dying than he ever was before. He had to stop this somehow. There had to be a way.

Vail left his home to go find the area where the portal had been and Holtz had jumped through. He didn't really have a plan, but he figured he would try sensing the mystical energy there and see what came up. Maybe he could open the portal again, if he had to, despite knowing that reopening the portal could potentially cause the immense danger of it spiraling out of control and enveloping the entire earth. Maybe he could save Connor before he grew old enough to bring Jasmine into this world. Vail had to try anything. He couldn't allow Jasmine to stay ahead in this cruel war.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked first, not fully understanding. "What do you mean Holtz took Connor?"

Fred explained everything to him. Holtz and Justine, Lilah's arrival, the sudden opening of a portal leading to an unknown dimension, and Holtz jumping in with Connor in his arms. It didn't make too much sense. But Angel had all of the information. His son was gone, missing, possibly in another dimension. And they were to blame.

Angel moved forward and pushed Wesley backwards onto the ground with enough force to fling him across the floor.

"Angel, stop!" Fred yelled. She tried to come towards him to stop him from getting closer to Wesley, but he grabbed Fred's arm and held her back at a safe distance. Wesley sat up slowly.

"You _lost _him?" Angel yelled at Wesley. "What the hell were you _thinking?_"

"It was only Holtz and Justine. I-I knew it was a bad idea, a terrible one, but something inside of me told me maybe we could just fight our way out of it. Then Justine was taking Fred and Lilah was showing up with a gun and it all just happened so fast, Angel."

"You knew it was a bad idea? Yet you got out of the car anyway?" Angel was close to Wesley again, and he was angry enough to attack him, kill him, even. His _son, _Wesley had lost Angel's _son, _and Angel felt stupid to have thought that Connor would've been safe with anyone but himself, even if there was the prophecy that stated he would kill Connor.

"I don't know what came over me, Angel, you have to believe me. I didn't want to get out of the car. It was wrong, and I knew it. But it was like a little voice was telling me that it was just Holtz and Justine, there was no real threat."

"He's right," Fred defended Wesley. "I felt it too. Like some force told us it was okay to get out of the car."

"You put everyone in danger," Angel accused.

"I know! I love Fred, Angel, and I promised to take care of Connor with my life, I wouldn't have put either of them in danger voluntarily. Why would I have given up so easily?"

Angel didn't know how to respond to that. Wes was right. He let go of Fred, and she ran forward to make sure Wes was okay.

"It was my fault," Wesley spoke, grabbing Fred's hand. "No one else's. Something told me we would be fine outside of that car, and I listened to it. If you need to take blame on somebody, take it out on me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," a new voice joined the conversation. Everyone looked up to see a demon entering the Hyperion.

"Skip?" Angel asked, recognizing the demon.

Skip smiled at the group looking up at him, most of them wondering who he was and what he was doing here. Well, he was here for his boss, but it wasn't like they were going to get that information anytime soon.

"Wesley's and Fred's actions may not have truly been their own," Skip continued. "Not that they were possessed like that creepy girl from _The Exorcist, _but there's a greater influence at work here, and there's no denying it. This same greater force also got rid of your son, Angel, so don't blame these poor people here who had no fight or say in the matter. It was going to happen anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked, confused.

"This demon wanted Connor through that portal into another dimension, Angel. This demon has enough power to influence everyone here to do whatever he wants. That demon is also a powerful sorcerer named Cyvus Vail. If you ever want to see your son again, Angel, the only way to do that is to kill Vail."

Skip had to acknowledge, lying and blaming Jasmine's actions on Vail came a lot easier than he had anticipated.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Angel looked at Skip, frowning, unsure of what he could say. This was all coming a bit quickly. Hadn't it been only minutes ago when Angel was up in his room, brooding about how he'd never see his son or two of his best friends ever again? Then Wes and Fred came in and there was no Connor but there was a story about Holtz and some mysterious portal, and then Skip showed up, with some very interesting information of his own.

The only issue was: Angel didn't know what to do with the information Skip was giving him. In fact, Angel didn't even know if he could trust Skip's information. It wasn't like he _knew _Skip, per say, at least not enough to trust him. He only knew him because of when they had to fight so Angel could bring Billy back to save Cordelia. And then, Cordelia had told them about Skip helping her become part demon so she wouldn't be a casualty due to her visions. Angel was certainly thankful for that.

So, really, Angel had no reason to not trust the demon. Sure, they had to fight for Billy, but Skip was just doing his job, and Angel could respect that. His showing up now was just a bit…random.

But if Skip was telling the truth and Angel could save Connor, well, that was all that really mattered.

"How do you know this?" Angel decided to ask. The question seemed fitting.

"Oh, Angel, I know a lot of things. More than you probably know, believe it or not. It's my job to know these things."

"But why are you telling us this?"

Skip sighed. "Look, you guys deserve to know what's going on here. This demon, Vail, he's been in control of a lot of your actions for a while now, and he has plans that'll conclude years in the future. Unless you guys try and stop him, we are all just little puppets in his sick game of _House._"

"Why take Connor?" Wesley included himself in the conversation. "Why send him to another dimension?"

"I wish I could tell you," Skip spoke with a shrug. "I really don't know the full extent of Vail's plans. I just know that he wanted Angel's son gone, possibly because of what Connor could grow up to be: Super powerful. Maybe even powerful enough to defeat Vail himself. At this stage, Vail definitely thinks he's stronger than anybody and anything."

"Killing this…Cyvus Vail," Angel stated, thinking. "That'll really bring Connor back?"

Skip had to pause. It was a mistake, one Angel should've seen right through had he not been distracted by the loss of his son and desperate to do anything to get him back. Looking into Angel's eyes, Skip saw the sheer desperation, and a small part of him almost felt guilty. Not about the lying about Vail stuff, but guilty that he had to say what he had to say next.

"Yes," Skip finally said. "Vail's power forced a situation where Connor would go into that portal. Once Vail is dead, his power is gone, and Connor's back."

All in all, Angel didn't need to hear anything else. His son was gone, kidnapped by Holtz, in some dimension, and Angel needed to get him back. If Vail's death could equal Connor's return, then Angel wasn't going to sit around thinking about it. He was going to take action.

Plus, if it was true that this demon had really been controlling their actions, influencing them, then he needed to go anyway. Nobody had the right to control him or his friends.

"Where is Vail?" Angel asked.

* * *

That question could not be rightfully answered. Not because Skip didn't know where Vail was (the first thing he did when he came to earth was scout out Vail's home), but because Vail wasn't at his home at the moment. He was at the scene where _it _happened earlier that night. This was where the portal opened and where Holtz jumped in with Connor.

Oh, yes, he could certainly _feel _the mystical energy that had occurred here earlier. The power was so strong, and the strength confirmed that no one could be behind this other than Jasmine and her influence. She hadn't opened the portal—she wouldn't have been able to on her own—but because Sahjhan began the process she was able to hold it open with her influence. Vail almost felt like this was his fault, then. He hadn't gotten rid of Sahjhan in time.

But there was no point dwelling on what had happened. It was too late for that. Now, all Vail could do was look at what was ahead of him and what could be done to stop Jasmine from winning and returning to earth.

Connor's return. Vail knew that was what needed to happen in order for Jasmine to be stopped—at least momentarily. Or, he supposed, there was Cordelia. Jasmine would want her to ascend, but that would not be for another few weeks, and Vail wasn't too keen on waiting that long. So, he'd call that a backup plan. For now, his focus needed to be on Connor.

How could he bring Connor back? Reopen the portal? Perhaps, but there were risks to the idea. Quor'toth was such a powerful Hell dimension that the portal would be hard to control, especially once opened for a second time. And even if he opened the portal and contained it, what then? It wasn't like Connor was going to come running out (or crawling, Vail would hope. He'd only been in Quor'toth, what, an hour? Two? How much time had already passed in that world? He had no idea how time worked in Quor'toth).

Did that mean _he _would be forced to go into Quor'toth and rescue Connor? That sounded quite dangerous. Putting himself in the darkest of the dark worlds could end his life if he wasn't careful, and wasn't his entire goal in all of this to _save _his life? Someone needed to go into Quor'toth, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to risk it.

Then Vail thought of an idea. Angel and his friends, they would go to any lengths to save Connor. Certainly they would run straight into the portal, headstrong and ready for a fight. The best part of that idea was the fact that if Angel and his friends were to bring Connor back safely or if they were to die in Quor'toth, both those situations were wins for Vail. If they brought Connor back: Good, no Jasmine. If they died: Good, no Illyria in Fred's body.

Albeit, when Vail started this, he never wanted to directly place himself in the clutches of knowledge with Angel and his friends. That would only cause trouble and a lot of unnecessary explaining. Furthermore, he had to admit, he didn't want them dead. He wouldn't have been too opposed to that in the beginning (why hadn't he just killed Fred after altering the spirits instead of going through all this?) but at this point he was too involved, and Jasmine was fighting with him terribly enough for him to actually kind of _root _for Angel Investigations.

Great. That brought him nowhere other than back to square one. The only factor he could actually decide on was that he knew he needed to make a decision soon before much more time passed by.

Vail needed to make up his mind, especially now when Angel Investigations was being pitted against him and he had no idea.

* * *

The only reason Angel didn't leave to go fight Vail right then was because of Wesley. Skip really, really, would have loved if Angel and them went to fight Vail right now and killed him so he wouldn't be a problem anymore to Jasmine, but Wes's rationalization convinced Angel going after him right now wasn't the best idea. First off, he and Fred had just returned, and Wes had just been thrown across the room by Angel and he had hit the ground pretty hard. He wanted to make sure both he and Fred were okay. Then, they needed to strategize. If Vail really was a powerful sorcerer with as much power as Skip said he had, they couldn't go just running in, weapons in the air. As much as Angel wanted to kill Vail right that instant, even he had to admit that Wes was right.

Wes and Fred retreated to his office. Sure, Wes did want to make sure he and Fred were okay, but another reason Wes wanted to prolong them going after Vail was because he wanted to try and see if Skip was telling the absolute truth, although he didn't share this with Angel or anyone else when Skip was in the room. Wes didn't want to seem distrustful.

The first thing Wes did when they were in the office was check Fred's arm. Angel had grabbed her when he was yelling at Wes, and he had grabbed her pretty hard. There was a bruise on her arm.

"It's nothing," Fred brushed it off, pulling her arm away. "What about you? You must've hit your head pretty hard." She began running her hands through his hair, on his head, feeling for any bumps of bruises. "You could have a concussion, you know."

"I feel perfectly fine. I'm just concerned about you. Angel shouldn't have-"

"It wasn't his fault. He was angry; I completely understand why he did what he did. Besides, it could've been a whole lot worse. It might've gotten worse, had Skip not shown up. As horrible as it is to say, I guess we're kind of lucky that our actions may not have been our own." She stopped feeling around his head.

"That seems to be happening to us a lot lately," Wes observed. "The whole 'our actions may not be our own' piece."

Fred didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.

Wes took that as a hint to move on. "One of the reasons I brought us in here is so we could look through some books real quick, if you don't mind. I believe if Skip is telling the truth, there should be some kind of passage on a sorcerer as powerful as Vail in one of my books."

"You're probably right," Fred said as they walked over to his desk. Wes started to grab some books. Fred took one, offering to help, and as her hand brushed against his, she couldn't help but vividly remember exactly what it was that brought them here, together, right now. Those possessions during the ballet. The love between the two spirits that had possessed them was _so strong, _and Fred was noticing that the feeling of strength of love was starting to feel familiar to her, like the love between the two spirits was what her feelings for Wesley were becoming. A sudden sadness came over her in the true realization that they wouldn't be starting a new life together, just the two of them.

It was crazy how two random spirits had brought them together like this, Fred thought. Even now, days after the ballet, they had no idea who the spirits were or what the story was behind the two. How come they hadn't bothered to look in to it any further, before all the drama with Connor and Angel had happened? Okay, maybe there wasn't that much time to look into it, but still, Fred hadn't even really thought about it.

Given the new revelations with Skip and Vail, Fred couldn't help but wonder if they were never meant to find out who the spirits were. Because what if them being possessed was part of Vail's-

Oh, jeez, no, she couldn't go there. Not now, not yet. Now wasn't the time.

Not that it would matter; she merely became conscious of that fact. If them being possessed was the result of some crazed demon, it didn't change the way she felt about him or how happy he made her feel when they were near and how sad she was that they weren't spending a new life together right now. Actually, if their possessions _were_ the result of Vail, she should thank Vail, because she'd never felt this way before.

Still, she couldn't bring this subject up just yet. It wasn't time.

Wes was already flipping through a book, and Fred realized she was only standing there, not looking for anything on Vail. She started looking through the book she had.

Too late, though, because once she opened the book Wes stopped flipping through the pages. She glanced over and saw he was, indeed, on a section titled with Cyvus Vail's name. There was no picture of him in the book. Fred maneuvered herself behind Wesley so she could read over his shoulder.

There was quite a lot of information on Vail, but strangely, most of that information was astoundingly vague. Apparently, he was extremely old, but there was no confirmation of exactly how old he was. Because of his old age, he'd picked up many tricks to becoming a sorcerer, especially dark magic. The book stated he was probably one of the best sorcerers to ever live, but, again, there was no exact estimate to all the power he had, so neither Wes nor Fred could see what exactly he could do in terms of magic. There was a rumor that, due to his old age, he should be extremely decrepit and weak, but he remained strong by getting transfusions of blood and other nutrients. Unfortunately, the book also couldn't state if that was, in fact, a truth, or just a rumor to make Vail seem somewhat weak.

"Easy enough to find and get information on," Wes thought out loud, "but no real facts about him. What does that tell us?"

"He covers his tracks?" Fred offered.

Wes sighed and closed the book. "Yes, supposedly. So what do we really know about him at this point?"

"Well, everything Skip told us out there seems to be true. Demon, powerful sorcerer, so on and so forth. The book doesn't say _exactly _how powerful he is, but my guess would be that if he's powerful enough it wouldn't take much effort to influence us one way or the other."

"What I really don't understand is what he wants. Why influence us? Why are we so special?"

"It really makes you wonder how long this has been going on," Fred quietly added in.

Wes seemed to come to some realization. "You're right. How long has all this been going on? Because up until recently I've felt normal and completely in control of my own actions. Even in the car where I knew something was wrong and it was a mistake, it almost felt natural. I guess that's how influence is supposed to feel, though. When did everything start becoming Vail's control?"

"Well, off the top of my head, there's one incident I could think of where Vail might've started taking control."

At first, Wes didn't catch on to what Fred was saying. But then the pieces fell together in his head, like a puzzle. It was so obvious, so right in front of his eyes. How could he have forgotten about the night at the ballet?

Wait, though, could that really have been Vail? Wes wasn't so sure.

"That had nothing to do with Vail," Wes shook his head. "We were possessed by two spirits—the ballerina and her secret lover. Kurskov confirmed that."

"Not really," Fred suddenly found herself arguing something she knew didn't matter anyway. "I mean, okay, maybe he confirmed some things, but there's still so much mystery about that night. The guy wanted to save the girl, presumably from being trapped with Kurskov. That all fits together. But I've gone over the two spirits and the conversation a whole lotta times and why would he have said: 'Every time I see her you're all I think about'?"

"People try to move on, Fred," Wes attempted to say, but he definitely saw where she was coming from. If they were as in love as they seemed to be, there was absolutely no chance of moving on.

"And what did mine mean when she said: 'But she's already here'? There was a she in our possessions that fit nowhere into Kurskov's story and was never explained. Plus, the fact that she'd arrived was apparently too much for the spirit that possessed me to be saved."

Wes saw what Fred saw now. She was right. In certain places, Kurskov's story of the ballerina and her lover fit Wes and Fred's possessions perfectly, but in other places, there was no sense to it. Could it really be that…?

"Oh no," Wes broke his eyes away from Fred's gaze. "Does this mean Vail did this? He…he crafted a scene with two spirits? He made us get possessed? He…" Wes closed his eyes to say the next few words. "He put us together."

"In a way, yes, if it really was him," Fred confirmed. But she stepped forward and placed a hand on Wes's cheek and his eyes opened. He stared in to her eyes. "Not that it matters. It doesn't change anything. Even if Vail created a scene and has been influencing all of us, there's no way my feelings about you could possibly change. There's not a doubt in my mind that even if we weren't possessed, we'd still be together in the future."

"But-but what if there was a-a transference, of sorts? A transference of-"

"Feelings?" Fred finished. "I don't think so. What I feel for you is genuine and completely my own. Even if by some short chance that there was some sort of transference in the beginning, those feelings the spirits had have been fully replaced by my own feelings for you."

"I…"

Wes didn't finish his thought because he and Fred were then kissing. In his mind, during that kiss, he saw all the things he loved about her (smart, beautiful, quirky, understanding, compassionate, and so much more) and she saw all she loved about him (caring, brave, selfless, handsome, willing to do anything for his friends if there was a possibility to help them, and so much more).

The kiss ended, and Fred remembered the last time Wesley spoke _"I" _and then stopped.

"Before we saw Holtz and Justine, in the car, you were going to say something. What was it?"

"Fred… Much earlier today, you said two people in love always find each other. I know only hours have passed, and that even before that we'd only just started addressing our feelings for one another, but… I just wanted you to know how much I really felt. I…I love you. I always have, ever since I first saw you."

"We've been through a lot together these last few hours, days, and we'd already been through a lot before all this drama started. I love you too, Wesley. I don't know when exactly it happened; all I know is that I wish I had realized it sooner."

They shared one last kiss, just to show one another how they really were there for each other. As much as Wes wished they could continue, they couldn't. There was still the problem of Vail to deal with.

"We can't be absolutely certain Vail played any part in the possessions, even if we have our suspicions. I think we need to ask Skip how long his influence has been affecting us. Then we'll really know if it was him."

"If it was because of him, what are we going to do?"

"Angel already wants to kill him. No matter what Vail did, all we can do is help."

* * *

Even though is seemed like they were in there forever, Wes and Fred finally came out of the office. Angel and Gunn were already by the weapons cabinet looking for what they thought the best weapons would be to take down a powerful sorcerer. Lorne was off to the side, more watching than giving his opinions on the weapons.

Both Wes and Fred walked over to Skip.

"Skip," Wes started, "if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions about Vail."

"Yeah, sure. What's up, bud?" Skip played it cool.

"We were just wondering exactly how long Vail has been influencing our actions."

Skip didn't know why or by whom, but he did know what Vail had done to Wes and Fred. He'd had them possessed by some spirits. Everything else surrounding those possessions was quite a mystery to even him. He only really knew they had happened because Jasmine knew.

Right now, Skip could easily see they were suspecting Vail had something to do with that night. At this stage, telling them that Vail _did_ have something to do with their possessions was the only truth Skip could utter, but he didn't know why Vail had done the possessions, so he shouldn't answer.

"For a long while. I wish I could say exactly how long or what exactly he's done, but I don't know everything. Most of his actions are still a mystery to me."

Wes and Fred shared a glance.

"Thanks," Wes said. "One last question: Do you know of any weaknesses of Vail?"

Skip shrugged. "What can I say, the guys old. There's no one better than him with magic, but in a _real _fight, there's no questioning who would win."

Skip was glad they accepted that answer. Jasmine wanted Vail dead, and she did believe Angel Investigations as a group could actually succeed in killing him. Plus, even if they couldn't defeat him, at least now they'd always be on the watch for him and think of him as the enemy.

"Are we ready?" Angel asked Wes and Fred.

"Maybe," Wes said. "If Skip is right, as long as we get up close to Vail, it won't be hard. It's the magic we have to worry about."

"Well, you're pretty skilled, right? Maybe you could hold him off for just a few seconds. That's all we'd need."

"I suspect I'm not nearly powerful enough. But I can try."

"Great." Angel picked his sword. "Wes? I'm sorry for blaming you and attacking you. None of this is your fault."

"No, you were right to do so. We thought I failed you completely. I would have done the same thing."

"Look, once we get Connor back, we still have the problem of the prophecy to deal with. Since Vail will be gone, there's no reason why you and Fred shouldn't try to take him again."

"Angel, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we need to worry about Vail."

Angel nodded. "You guys ready?"

Everyone picked up a weapon as Wes went to get a spell book. Already he could feel his magic skills would be nothing against Vail, but he had to try, as Angel suggested. Although, he couldn't help but feel that things weren't going to go as they planned.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, Angel belongs to Joss Whedon and whoever else who owns Angel.

Skip stayed behind at the Hyperion while the members of Angel Investigations hunted down a nearly ancient demon sorcerer who, if given the chance, could kill them all with just a little bit of magic. That was why they had to be quick and prepared. The plan was to go to where Skip said Vail lived, get semi-close to Vail, have Wes perform a spell that could—at the very least—keep Vail from using magic for a mere few seconds, and then have Angel rush forward in Vail's moments of vulnerability and use his sword to decapitate Vail, because surely _that _had to kill him, right?

Okay, it wasn't a perfect plan. So many things could go wrong. But they didn't have a lot of time to deal with, and Angel was in a hurry to get his son back as soon as possible. They had to take risks in this situation. Gunn, Fred, Wes, and Lorne were to be Angel's back up in case the original plan didn't work (Lorne was really hoping that Plan A would work, he didn't exactly want to go running into a fight with a powerful sorcerer when he knew he wouldn't be much help).

It was late when they arrived where Vail's home was. It was already late to begin with, and Angel was realizing just how long of a day it had been. In the span of below twelve hours he'd found out he was destined to kill his son, he'd given his son away, his son had been taken to another world, and he found out all their actions were being influenced by a powerful sorcerer.

_The sun should be rising in a few hours, _he realized. They needed to kill Vail and get Connor back before then, because Angel wasn't going to go back home without his son.

It wasn't a surprise to find Vail's home had guards, minions who worked under his commands. Fortunately for them, none were tough enough to the point where they caused any real problems for Angel investigations. They all killed a couple demons (Lorne fought, but needed help) and made it where to they thought Vail would be. They weren't worn out, and they decided they should rush in as quickly as possible. Wes found a spell he thought would work, told Angel he was ready, and then they burst in to Vail's sleeping quarters.

Instantly Wes began chanting the spell, but stopped when he took a quick glance around the room to see Vail was noticeably absent.

Angel, whose plan was to immediately attack, also saw the Vail was gone. He shook his head, angry. Their entire plan relied on them killing Vail, and he wanted to complete that _tonight. _Where was he? How could they be so unlucky that he wasn't here?

"Great," Angel rolled his eyes. "Where the hell is he?"

"Actually, this might be for the best," Wes informed them. Angel didn't seem to understand what he meant. "Vail isn't here, obviously. That gives us opportunity."

"An ambush," Fred realized what Wes was considering.

"Exactly. He won't be expecting us. The element of surprise is in our favor, which is actually probably for the best. We're better off since he isn't here."

Angel frowned. But then he thought that Wes was right. Vail wouldn't be gone forever, he'd come back eventually. And when he did, they'd be ready for him.

* * *

Vail wasn't far behind. He'd decided that in order to make the decision, he had to talk with Angel and his friends. They'd know what they'd want to do. He couldn't just go up to them and talk to them, though, without seeming insane. So, he decided he'd hurry home real quick to grab the urn that held Sahjhan to prove he was on their side.

It didn't exactly take long for him to notice something was amok. His guards, they were all gone. No matter where he looked around, he found nobody. He wasn't immediately sure what was going on. Where were his guards? Didn't they have a _job _to be doing?

There weren't many instances where Vail's home had actually been invaded, so that wasn't his first thought. Who would attack him, anyway? Other than his "battle" with Jasmine right now, no one else was stupid enough to try and mess with him, meaning he didn't really consider the possibility that his guards had been attacked.

Vail entered the building. He didn't see anybody at first.

Then there was a low, mumbling voice. Vail turned his head, seeing someone off to the side with a book in hand, chanting the words.

Wesley's magic wasn't fast enough or powerful enough to hold up Vail.

Instinctively, Vail used his telekinesis as fast as he could, sending Wesley flying across the room before he even looked at his face to see who the intruder was. Then off to the side there was shuffling as someone came running towards him. He turned, and was about to attack, when he saw the person rushing at him was Angel.

Vail froze. What was _Angel _doing here?

Angel raised his sword and was swinging it when Vail snapped out of it. He blocked the sword and sent Angel flying as well.

At the same time, Wesley stood up and Vail saw him. The rest of the members of Angel Investigations came out of their hiding places and were looking ready to charge at Vail. Vail was fully ready to fight—he knew he could take all of them down without breaking a sweat—but then he knew fighting wasn't his goal. Angel and his pals were attacking him for some reason when Vail had just had the intent to help them get Connor back.

"Stop!" he shouted, hating how desperate he sounded. He was an immensely powerful sorcerer that could stop them easily, so why did he have to _tell _them to stop and just wait to see if they'd listen?

Angel stood up, gripping his sword. Everyone else had stopped in their places, unsure what to do. They just saw Vail take down both Wes and Angel with little effort, so they had grown wary of any attacks they could try.

"What the hell are you _doing _here?" Vail yelled angrily. The last he knew nobody even knew he existed.

Angel stepped forward bravely, pointing his sword at Vail despite being too far away to attack. "Where did you send Connor?" Angel asked, knowing this situation wasn't good. Their plan had generally failed, and he figured he needed to keep Vail talking until he could think of another approach.

Vail frowned. "Connor? Your son? I have done nothing with him."

"We know you sent him to another dimension," Fred spoke up for Angel.

"We know you've been influencing our actions for a great amount of time," Wes defended Fred. "Probably longer than we even know."

This information, though new to Vail, was not very shocking. He realized that he should've been expecting something like this. After all, it wasn't _he _that was influencing them, but a very different power. A power that was willing to do anything to achieve her goal, and now her goal was to get rid of the only demon trying to prevent what she was doing.

"And, ah, where did you acquire this information?" Vail questioned.

Everybody was hesitant to answer. What were they doing here, making small talk? They were here to _kill _Vail.

"That doesn't matter," Angel brushed the question off. "All that matters is that you've sent my son somewhere he doesn't belong. Now, _bring him back. _If you don't, we'll have to kill you."

Unable to control himself, Vail laughed. "Kill me? Really? I'd like to see you try." Then he remembered his goal in all of this, and became conscious of the fact that he shouldn't be taunting them. "Look, you've got it all wrong. Someone has lied to you. I am not your enemy. In fact, you should be thanking me. I want to get Connor back as much as you do."

"You really think we'll believe that?" Gunn responded.

"If not, then you're all much bigger fools than I gave you credit for."

Wes saw something the others didn't see. Vail was supposed to be some evil bad guy—and he was. But so far, Vail hadn't pretended to be something he wasn't. He had threatened them and called them fools so far. If he was trying to deny their claims, why would he taunt them like that?

"Why would you want Connor back?" Wes decided to ask.

The words "_to prevent my demise" _were on the tip of Vail's tongue, but he decided against saying them because he could not imagine that going over well.

"To stop the greater force at work here," he decided on saying. "As I've said, you've all been deceived. To think that I am the one influencing you is moronic. That is just what Jasmine wants you to believe."

"Jasmine?" Angel couldn't help but ask.

"Well, that is not her true name, but it is the name you all will give to her in the future."

"The future?" Fred gasped. "I didn't think time travel was possible."

"It's not," Angel reassured her. "He's lying."

"Okay, wait," Vail stopped them. "This is horrid. Allow me to start from the very beginning before you make up your mind about who is lying to you and who is telling the truth."

Angel didn't want to listen to him talk. But…he didn't really have another choice right now. "Okay. Go."

Vail wasn't going to start at the _very _beginning. The sheer information that this all started from him not wanting to die might start them on an even _more wrong _foot.

"This force, Jasmine, she wants to take over the world. Right now, she has no physical form. In order for her to gain a physical form, she must be born as Connor's child. She sent him to another dimension so he would age rapidly by Earth's time standards. If I—we—do not interfere with this, the next time you see Connor he will practically be an adult, no longer a child."

"So you want to stop Jasmine," Wes summarized.

Vail nodded. "That is why she used one of her minions—Skip, probably, I'd be willing to bet—to try and get you guys to kill me."

"What if you're lying?" Angel shook his head. "We have no reason to believe you. But Skip we know, he's helped us. We have plenty of reason to believe him against you."

Vail slowly stepped over to a shelf that held the urn that held Sahjhan. He picked it up and showed it to all of them. "This is my proof. The enemy Sahjhan is in here. I trapped him in here because he wanted Connor gone as well. You see, Angel, the prophecy about you killing Connor is completely false. Sahjhan created it because the true prophecy states that Connor will kill him."

This news was enough for Angel to waver. He lowered his sword. Could that really be true? The prophecy was a lie? Angel had to believe what Vail was saying because he knew that that was the urn that could trap Sahjhan.

"Why would I trap Sahjhan in here to save Connor if I wanted him gone?" Vail continued. "It is rather…unfortunate…that Jasmine got to him anyway."

Angel thought for a few seconds. "So if Jasmine wants Connor, he'll be back. He'll come back to Earth whenever she wants him to."

"Yes. But that does not matter. If we do not rescue Connor tonight, before he ages too much, we'll never stop Jasmine from coming to Earth in a physical form."

"Why do you want to stop her so badly? Why interfere with this plan of hers? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just fight her once she gets on Earth?"

"It's complicated." Vail saw by the looks on their faces that that wasn't enough. They needed an actual explanation. "It's sort of a chain of events, you see. If Jasmine gains her physical form and comes to Earth, then I will die." He saw their expressions didn't change. They didn't care whether he died or not. But they would care if… "And all of you will die too."

"All of us?" Lorne echoed.

And Vail saw it. Manipulation. This was the key to getting them to listen to him rather than Skip.

"Well, most of you. It will start with your precious Cordelia. She will die nothing more than a pawn in Jasmine's cruel game. Then, soon after, Winifred will die. And then Wesley. More of you may die, but I do not know any further. So, you see, Jasmine must be stopped. Now."

"H-how will I die?" Fred stuttered. It was a terrible question, one she knew she probably shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help herself.

"You will fall because you meet a man named Knox, a man who you may not meet if Jasmine never comes to Earth. Knox brings an ancient demon that will inhabit your body, completely destroying your mind and soul."

"And me?" Wes asked.

Vail gulped. He had to admit, this was difficult. Did he tell the truth about Wes?

He had to tell the truth. It would show them that he was not lying about _anything. _

"I kill you."

Everyone froze. No one really knew how to react to that information.

Wes frowned, trying to think of what that meant. According to this demon, if they didn't stop Jasmine, Cordelia and Fred and he would die. He glanced over at Fred. There was no way he could let her (or anyone else) die. If Vail was telling the truth, then they _had _to listen to him.

"Look, I'm telling this to you as a courtesy," Vail spoke. "I could lie, but I do not. What matters right now is Connor. If you have any other questions, they can be answered later, but we must have our priorities set."

"We need to talk about this," Angel said, referring to him and his friends.

They gathered on the opposite side of the room, away from Vail to discuss everything he had said.

"What if he's lyin'?" Gunn instantly suggested.

"I don't know," Wes shook his head. "He's incredibly knowledgeable. Plus, he knows about Skip. How would he know about Skip if he were lying?"

"How does he know about…us?" Fred questioned. "Our…our deaths. How does he know about the future?"

"Well, he's a powerful sorcerer, right?" Lorne spoke up. "Maybe he can see into the future."

"It doesn't matter," Angel shut them off. "All those questions, he said we could ask him later. Like he said, right now all that matters is Connor. And I have a plan to deal with that. Follow my lead."

Angel turned away. Wes wanted to stop him, ask him what his plans were so they weren't going into this partially clueless, but it was too late.

"What's your plan to get Connor back?"

Vail grinned. "Connor was sent to a world called Quor'toth—the darkest of dark worlds. I believe I can reopen the portal, given that it doesn't spiral out of control and envelop a lot more than planned. Anyway, if someone were to go into that portal and rescue Connor…"

He trailed off. The rest was a given. Go into Quor'toth, rescue Connor, and then get out. Albeit, a place he referred to as "the darkest of dark worlds" didn't sound like a fun place to go.

Angel nodded. "If you open the portal, I'll go in."

_What? _Fred thought to herself. That seemed like an awfully big risk, considering they didn't even know if Vail was telling the truth! Was _this _Angel's plan? Just to go after Connor, no matter what?

"I'll come with you," Wes told Angel. "It's partially my fault he's there in the first place, even if I was influenced."

""I'll come to," Gunn backed him up.

Fred didn't exactly want to go into another world so soon after escaping Pylea. But what the hell? She had to help Angel. "Me too."

"I-I guess I will too," Lorne said with a sort of sad chuckle. Boy, this was _not _going to be fun.

* * *

The six of them returned to the point where the portal had originally opened. It was ominous here, in the dead of night. Not a creature seemed to be astir.

Wes held Fred's hand all the way here. She was worried about jumping into the portal, Wes knew, and he wanted to try and comfort her as much as possible. He wished he could hug her, tell her it was all going to work out okay, but they were already short on time. So, he settled for just holding her hand and being close to her.

He thought about their possessions at the ballet. If Vail was telling the truth and he hadn't influenced their decisions, had the mysterious Jasmine caused them to be possessed? It was just another question that still remained unanswered.

On the walk to the correct spot, Vail thought about everything he told them. It was truthful, for the most part. All he did was omit a few (important?) details. Hopefully those details wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.

"Okay," Vail stated once they arrived. "Back up a few inches."

They listened to his commands. Vail's back was towards all of them. He needed his space so that he could do the magic on his own to reopen the portal. At this point, he was really hoping that it wouldn't go out of control when opened for a second time, like some portals could. If the portal to Quor'toth were to spiral out of control, well…it wouldn't be good, to state it mildly.

He started the spell. A harsh wind suddenly appeared, chilling everyone.

It happened relatively quickly—as abruptly as it had appeared the first time, both Wes and Fred remembered. The portal started opening.

In the beginning it was nothing but a small hole with magnificently dark colors like red and black swirling around each other. Then it grew rapidly, almost out of control. Bigger than Vail, bigger than all of them put together. Wes couldn't help but fear that soon it would be bigger than anyone could manage.

Vail was struggling. The portal, it was incredibly rich with power, a power so great it was hard for even him to control.

Feeling decrepit, Vail fell to his knees. _Oh, jeez. _He had to be able to do this. He had to gain more control. He chanted and chanted and used magic he could only hope would work and…

The portal stopped growing. It was already absurdly large, and he didn't know how long he could hold it. If he were to let go, he didn't know if it would continue to grow or close.

"Come! Now!" Vail shouted to the group behind him. He needed them to _hurry._

They all started grabbing each other's hands. Like they'd gone into Pylea, there was a possibility of them being separated. Unlike Pylea, this time there was no time to get a car so they could stick together. Hopefully holding hands would do the trick.

All of them were about to walk forward when Angel broke their chain, held out his arms, and stopped them.

"What-"

Wes started, but Angel cut him off with a hand movement. Then Angel ran forward, as if he was heading into the portal all by himself.

Vail felt a pair of hands on his back that, for some reason he could not place, frightened him. Then he was being lifted.

Vail was never _frightened. _Why should he be? He was Cyvus Vail. He was one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. And yet, in this moment, he knew what was happening, and it scared him in a way he could never imagine. He knew that he should've seen this coming.

Angel threw Vail into the portal, and it snapped closed right behind him.

The rest of the group stood behind in shock. What had just happened? Each of them had thought…

"That was your plan?" Wes asked incredulously.

Angel shrugged. "If he's telling the truth, he's willing to do anything to get Connor back, and that's what he'll do in Quor'toth. If he's lying, he'll come back without Connor. Or he'll die in Quor'toth. Whatever happens, it's a win for us."

The group smiled, thinking. Angel's plan was smart. And so far, it had worked.

But now that Vail was gone and he had claimed Skip was working for an evil higher power, what were they supposed to do?

The unfortunate thing was they could do nothing but wait.


End file.
